North Sea Fish Moving South |
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Written by spacetravel.org
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Thursday, 19 May 2005 23:43 |
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In the past 25 years, the average temperature in the North Sea has risen by 0.6°. According to a study by Allison Perry and John Reynolds of the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK, and colleagues, 21 out of 36 North Sea fish species that they studied have moved during that time. Fifteen species have moved to cooler latitudes, and six have moved to cooler depths. The centers of abundance of these species have shifted by an average of 173 kilometers.
The team says that if warming trends do not change, by 2050 important commercial species, such as blue whiting, could vanish from the North Sea. However, some fish species have been moving in from the south, possibly countering the effect of indigenous fish moving north. Currently, at least 16 warmer-water species are colonizing the North Seas southern reaches.
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