Our coastal marine ecosystems are changing rapidly—and some species are moving on.
Our coastal marine ecosystems are changing rapidly—and some species are moving on.
Perhaps no animal is more iconic to BC than the sockeye salmon. For millennia, it’s been part of the history, livelihood and culture of Indigenous peoples, and it plays an integral role in the province’s tourism, fishing and restaurant industries. So it’s hard to imagine a time when, instead of an obligatory box of smoked salmon, visitors to BC might return home with a vacuum-sealed package of squid or tuna. But, say UBC marine biologists, this scenario isn’t just hypothetical—thanks to climate change, it’s just a matter of time.
“The ocean is changing already,” says Dr. William Cheung, director of UBC’s Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries. “It’s warming up, getting more acidic, and it’s losing oxygen as well. This is not something we’re expecting to happen, it’s something that we are experiencing now, particularly for sockeye salmon.”
Read more at: The University of British Columbia
