According to a report released by the CSIRO said that the change in climate is likely to deprive us of the pleasures of eating beef and lamb, instead forcing us to contemplate platefuls of kangaroo meat and threatening another Australian table staple — seafood. The report revealed that changes in temperature, ocean currents, rainfall and extreme weather events could cost Australian fisheries tens of million of dollars.
It is said that the most affected could be the stocks of Tasmanian salmon, estimated to be worth $221million in 2005-06 and representing 30 percent of the total national aquaculture production. The report forecast ocean warming of 2-3 degree by 2070 could render salmon farming unviable, leaving open the possibility of salmon farmers having to shift their operations offshore to deeper, cooler waters.
The study found that the retreat of mangrove forests and seagrass beds could leave commercially farmed banana prawns, mud crabs and barramundi without their habitats. Climate Change Minister Penny Wong said the report was a preliminary assessment of the effect climate change could have on Australia’s commercial fishing and aquaculture industry, worth about $2.1 billion.
Senator Wong told that the report finds climate change is likely to affect not only the fishing industry but also the regional and coastal communities the industry supports. The report finds climate change impacts will vary by region and that many impacts are expected to be negative, with some data suggesting that effects may have already occurred.
