Pictured: Satellite image from 2023 by NOAA's GOES-16 satellite, showing Hurricane Idalia approaching the western coast of Florida and Hurricane Franklin in the Atlantic Ocean.
Photo: NOAA
Expanding US seafood production will depend on the industry’s ability to anticipate and recover from climate-related disruption, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Miami's Rosentiel School.
Published in the journal Fish and Fisheries last month, the study uses fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico as a case study to examine how hurricanes affect fishing communities, marine habitats, processing infrastructure and seafood supply chains.
Its authors argue that similar measures could help the sector prepare for other threats, including marine heatwaves and harmful algal blooms.
“For fisheries, competitiveness isn't just about producing more seafood—it's about producing it consistently,” said Juan Carlos Villaseñor-Derbez, assistant professor in the university’s Department of Environmental Science and Policy and the study's lead author, via a news release.
“Climate resilience gives fisheries the ability to recover faster from disruptions, creating the stability that businesses, consumers and coastal communities rely on,” he added.
The researchers argue that resilience should be treated as an economic concern as well as an environmental one. Measures that allow fisheries to prepare for, withstand and recover from extreme events could reduce financial losses and support more stable domestic seafood production, they said.
The Gulf of Mexico generates about $910 million (€789 million) in annual commercial dockside revenue and supports more than 250,000 commercial and recreational fishing jobs, according to figures cited by the study. It is also home to the largest commercial shrimp and oyster fisheries in the US.
However, the region has the country’s highest and fastest-growing exposure to hurricanes, leaving fishing vessels, ports, seafood processors and coastal communities vulnerable to prolonged disruption.
The authors identify three key areas for policy action, calling for fisheries governance that can adapt to changing environmental conditions while maintaining sustainable harvests, together with independent financial safety nets to help businesses and communities recover after disasters, and science-based climate risk assessments to improve forecasting, preparedness and longer-term decision-making.
The authors said these priorities are in line with NOAA’s ongoing work to increase domestic seafood production and modernise fisheries management in the United States.
“Our aim for this analysis is to help inform future fisheries policies that strengthen domestic seafood production while supporting the coastal communities and businesses that depend on healthy, productive fisheries,” Villaseñor-Derbez said.