Nuclear War Could Take a Big Bite Out of the World’s Seafood

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A new study reveals the damage that a nuclear war might take on wild-caught seafood around the world, from salmon and tuna to the shrimp in shrimp cocktails.

The aftermath of such a conflict could put a major strain on global food security, an international team of scientists reports. The group estimates that a nuclear war might cut the amount of seafood that fishing boats are capable of bringing in worldwide by as much as 30%.

In short span of time, in other words, those impacts could rival the toll that climate change is taking on fisheries across the globe, said study coauthor Nicole Lovenduski.

“It’s similar to what’s going to happen by the end of the century, and that’s already concerning,” said Lovenduski, an associate professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder. “To have something of the same magnitude happen over such a short period of time is really remarkable.”

Continue reading at University of Colorado Boulder

Image via University of Colorado Boulder