Tue, Apr 21, 2015 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM PDT
Where's My Fish? New Tools to Visualize Climate and Other Impacts on Marine Animals by Malin Pinsky of Rutgers University and Jon Hare of NOAA

By 2100, ocean waters are expected to be substantially warmer than they are today, with profound effects on fisheries. One of the most commonly observed impacts of climate change is through shifts in species distributions, and recent evidence suggests that marine fish and invertebrates closely follow climate velocity (the rate and direction that isotherms move across the seascape). Despite broad recognition of impacts, however, incorporating climate considerations into fisheries management has been challenging. Here, we describe a new web-based tool that will help managers, scientists, fishermen, and the public track shifts in the distribution of the nation’s marine fish and other animals with changing ocean conditions. The OceanAdapt website is the result of a partnership between NOAA Fisheries and Rutgers University that annually aggregates marine biological survey data from around North America. The effort is part of the growing trend towards open science and can help in the preparation of climate vulnerability analyses or in the prioritization of species for more focused adaptation efforts. Learn more about OceanAdapt at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/stories/2014/12/oceanadapt_trackingfish.html.