Releasing the CSIRO study on the outlook for Australia’s $2.1 billion fishing industry, Climate Change Minister Senator Penny Wong warned fisheries were facing huge changes, reports Your Guide.
However Ulladulla Fishing Coop chairman Mario Puglisi said he had seen little noticeable differences in the region’s waters over the past 40 years.
“We have seen a difference in the hot water current moving further south than it had in the past, but I couldn’t really say if this is a result of climate change or not,” the 62-year-old fisherman told Your Guide.
“The only decline in fish has been through too much pressure from the boats, but since the buy-out recently, the fleet, about 50 per cent of what we had, are maintaining themselves.
“It is difficult to make any comparisons as so many variables come into play.
“We have 50 per cent less boats and electronic gear has been introduced, leaving the fish with no chance,” he said.
Nevertheless the CSIRO report, Implications of Climate Change for Australian Fisheries and Aquaculture, recognises climate change as one of five key broad-scale threats to marine biodiversity.
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