New backing for global warming theory – Fishupdate.com

New backing for global warming theory Published:  13 May, 2005

NEW research is backing fishermen’s claims that many fish species in the North Sea are moving north due to global warming.

According to Allison Perry of the University of East Anglia, cod, whiting and monkfish have shifted significantly north, while some other species have moved to colder depths.

And she has warned that some fish may disappear from the North Sea by 2050.

“Some of these species are already depleted and this is yet another challenge that they face,” she said.

Dr Perry and her team have studied data on 36 species of fish going back to the 1970s. Of those species, 21 have moved northwards, some by hundreds of kilometres.

Since the 70s, the average winter temperature at the bottom of the North Sea has risen by around one degree Celsius, and the researchers believe that rise, which they say is attributable to global warming, is forcing populations to shift. This adds more weight to fishermen’s claims that they are being unfairly blamed for stock depletion.Scottish Fishermen’s Federation president Alex West said this week he was convinced that global warming was a key factor in North Sea cod distribution patterns.

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