ANSWER 1

Written response:

It is often said that some marine species will be winners and others will be losers as climate change alters ocean conditions. In the case of the kingfish fishery in Tasmania, it appears that ocean warming is indeed creating more opportunities for fishers to target this valuable species through a lengthening of the fishing season. Predictive modelling has shown that the number of months per year that suitable environmental conditions for kingfish occur off eastern Tasmania is increasing by approximately 1 month every 10 years. This result is shown visually in the attached image, where darker colours indicate greater persistence (represented as months per year) of suitable conditions for kingfish. For eastern Tasmania, the image shows that the length of the kingfish season is predicted to have already occurred, and further increases are expected into the future. However, it is less clear if there will be more of them (i.e. increases in abundance). This will be dependent on factors such as recruitment, growth and mortality (both natural and fishing) – particularly within more northern parts of the species distribution that support the seasonal Tasmanian kingfish fishery.

Note: The attached image and research findings summarised are from the following peer-reviewed scientific publication:
Champion C, Hobday AJ, Zhang X, Pecl GT, Tracey SR (2018) Changing windows of opportunity: past and future climate-driven shifts in temporal persistence of kingfish (Seriola lalandi) oceanographic habitat within south-eastern Australian bioregions. Marine and Freshwater Research 70(1) 33-42. https://doi.org/10.1071/MF17387

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