This modeling study shows a trade-off in fisheries management under climate change: strategies that protect fish populations often reduce harvest, while strategies that maximize harvest can leave populations vulnerable. The researchers developed a model of a harvested fish population experiencing climate-driven changes in demography, then compared different management strategies that either adapt to new conditions or maintain historical practices. Climate impacts impose a choice between management strategies that favor fishery yield or population biomass but not both. When climate caused a population's carrying capacity to increase, or its productivity to decrease, a climate-adaptive strategy maintained higher population biomass but produced similar or lower yield than fixed management. Managers face difficult trade-offs between conservation and economic goals under climate change. As climate change reshapes ocean ecosystems, fisheries managers worldwide must decide how to respond. The research shows that there is no single perfect solution. Each adaptation strategy involves trade-offs between economic benefits and conservation outcomes.
Citation
Samhouri, Jameal F.; Detmer, A. Raine; Marshall, Kristin N.; Stier, Adrian C.; Berger, Aaron; Liu, Owen R.; Shelton, A. Ole (2025). Course corrections responding to climate impacts produce divergent effects on population biomass and harvest in fisheries. PLOS Climate.
This paper is Open Access.
Adapting fisheries rules to a changing climate
As climate change shifts fish productivity, managers can update harvest rules or keep them fixed. This simulation compared the two over 50 years of declining carrying capacity.
From Samhouri et al. (2025), PLOS Climate (Results, S5a Fig). Climate-adaptive management compared with fixed management.
Cite this article
Samhouri et al. (2025). Climate Change Creates Hard Trade-Offs for Fisheries Management. Ocean Recoveries Lab. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pclm.0000624
