Arctic Climate Change, Economy and Society

The work will focus on the fisheries, aquaculture and livelihood in the European Arctic sector, and how governance can support the fisheries industries under climate change influence.

Objectives:

• quantify and illustrate how climate changes impact the fishing activities within the Arctic environment, due to biological and regulatory constraints
• review effects from climate change on aquaculture production within the Arctic, including the environmental feed-back effects on the socio-ecological system
• assess the effect from climate change on input and output markets of the Arctic fishing industry
• evaluate the regional and local effects of climate-related environmental changes on fisheries, focusing on the adaptive strategies in commercial and subsistence fishery
• review how fisheries management options are influenced by climate changes, given national policies, the legal fishery framework, environmental legislation and national perspectives on integrated ocean management
• elucidate the behavioural responses from different economic actors involved in Arctic fisheries, to ecosystem changes and policy interventions as results of climate change
• map the distribution of marine mammal populations in the Arctic, and assess the influence from climate, and human activity, changes on traditional whaling
• develop indicators for sustainable development in the Arctic fisheries sector, by emphasising the economic development which is subject to trajectory uncertainties