Climate change pushing fish south

[bugman]

From the ABC 13/8/2010
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...13/2981639.htm

Climate change pushing fish south

By environment reporter Sarah Clarke
Updated 1 hour 58 minutes ago
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Yellowtail kingfish are now being caught in Hobart's River Derwent. (NSW DPI: Supplied)

• Audio: Climate change has fish moving south (AM)

A new CSIRO study has found that climate change is driving a widespread number of fish south as the oceans warm.
The study found around 30 per cent of Australia's inshore coastal fish families have been found outside their usual area.
CSIRO has identified south-eastern Australia as a climate change hotspot, with well documented changes already occurring over the last 70 years.
CSIRO spokesman Dr Peter Last says a snapshot of the distribution of coastal fish has located 43 types of fish outside their normal range.
Those species on the move include rock flathead, tiger sharks and Queensland gropers.
"We had a coral trout, for example, which is a common commercial fish from Queensland, as far south as Port Arthur," Dr Last said.
CSIRO National Fish Collection spokesman Alistair Hobday says the consequences are not always positive.
"These animals are going to move further south and they'll have nowhere else to go once they get to the tip of Tasmania," he said.
The study also found up to 19 species of Tasmanian coastal fish have undergone serious declines, and some are possibly extinct locally.
Mr Hobday says a number of warm temperate species have now colonised cooler areas, and some species may struggle to survive.
"What has been surprising to us is how widespread this movement has been and this paper for the first time shows how widespread that is," he said.



Interesting - I'm not sure about Coral Trout off Port Arthur but I have personally witnessed mahi mahi landed in the same area - first time ever for the local game club.

Brett

[Lucky_Phill]

Thanks Brett,

Just wondering if we could impose a tax to stop the warm currents moving south ?


Seriously, I am concerned that the QLD DPI&F have not addressed this with any data or research ? Are they not the Fishery managers ?

Well, if this means the Torres Straight fishery is heading south to say..... 1770... I say yee haa...

Seriously again, I am wondering if this could be a cyclic thing like world surface temperatures etc ? Wonder if there are some fossilized Coral Trout in the mud up the Derwent River ?


Cheers LP
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[ziggy.]

This plays right into Bob Browns hands, I would not expect anything less from the ABC, they are always pushing the climate change barrow. Well documented changes occuring over the last 70 years, Hmm anyone might think that this climate change stuff is a natural progression of earth. I think small storys like this are put in the media here and there to try and persuade people that fishing bans are needed, man made climate change is real and finally to convince people that we need a carbon tax.

I don't doubt for a minute that the fish move around with warmer currents but as Phil said who is to say this isn't part of a big cycle, man hasn't been studying the seas long enough to see any real pattern but then again is there a pattern ??

The greens will be very pleased with this story..

[tunaticer]

I am a skeptic on human induced climate change and i find it very hard to believe that the oceans warming is a direct or indirect result of our involvement. The scientists admit they do not understand the currents of our oceans or what triggers them to change or what influence the molten core of the earth has on temperatures of water deep in the trenches of our oceans.

How can it be stated as fact that our actions have induced this climate change?

I believe that all of this hysteria is created in the minds of governments wanting to tax more to make ends meet and they hire the "professionals with the right story" to create thier propaganda machines.

I admit we are adapting and changing this planet to suit our lives and needs and there are losses of natural habitat and species as a result, but does not that happen in nature as well? Do not rabbits change landscapes and kill off species of vegetation in thier areas from with overfeeding or erosion? Do mosquitos introduce viruses and diseases upon any and all warm blooded creatures with devastating consequences at times? The list of natural disasters in both the biological and mineral senses are much more profound than anything that us as humans have done, but give us due time and our chance for our extinction will come too, as it has done many times before.

If anything is to be of benefit the our "environment" it will be a break away from pollution or contamination by changing fuel sources. Taxing the people for being human consumers is just an inflation trigger that will make living unaffordable for the majority in years to come and bring about disease and cause lots more social problems to deal with. No amount of money taken from the mouths or rents of the citizens will solve this problem. Changing the fuel sources is the obvious selection outside of the money. Has anyone got a clue how to harness nitrogen as a fuel source? it is 80% of out atmosphere and it is inert. How can it be utilised?

[TimiBoy]

Yes, all very funny really. We are moving into a La Nina phase. That causes changes. On top of it there is a multi decadal oscillation at work which is swinging us back to "70's type weather."

On top of that the Oceans rise has slowed right down in the last ten years, and the temperature of the oceans has actually fallen in the last few years.

Global Sea Ice is at the average, Antarctic Sea Ice is at record highs.

We don't hear/see any of that, do we?

You should see BOM/CSIRO temperature research and records. A load of bunk, lies 'n' bollocks.

Cheers,

Tim

[albey]

Any news of Barra and/or Crocs in Brisbane,or Fingermark and Grunter further south or are these species immune from the so called climate change.Though we have had big threadies in the Brisbane River for some time now,but shooosss,dont tell anyone else or Bob Brown the leader of the Party against a good time will find out and ban fishing in the rivers as well.

[TimiBoy]

Yeah well, there were crocs in Logan river 100 years ago. Must've been all those SUVs they were driving...

Cheers,

Tim

[nigelr]

Just makes Tasmania even more attractive............
Cheers!

[Jarrah Jack]

There was a barra caught off a pier in Melbourne recently, they reckon it was an escapee from an aquarium. The water is about 11 degrees at present. He had obviously been feeding and appeared healthy enough. I think it was put back. Imagine catching that in a few years time.

[murf]

just talking to the local NPWS pest man and he was telling me of the Southern species up here in Coffs (Fur seals and Leopard Seal) so it goes both ways

was there a law once that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction?

cheers Murf

[nigelr]

lol good point about the leopard seals, one came shore at North Beach one night about 15 years ago or so. Long way from home, even in winter!