For centuries, fishers realized that weather affected fish populations, but they lacked the scholarly resources to investigate their observations. During the nineteenth century, fishery researchers began applying scientific methodology to study diverse factors affecting fish health, reproduction, and habitats. They contemplated reasons for decreased fish populations besides overfishing. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency representatives voiced concerns that climate deviations affected the quantity and quality of fisheries to the U.S. Congress in 1988. The American Fisheries Society promoted research examining how climate change might affect fisheries. Scientists consulted ships ' logs and records documenting fish-catch statistics and meteorological patterns to evaluate hypotheses about the climate 's possible role in fish population losses. Researchers used computer simulations to consider future climatic factors that could potentially harm fish.
Fish are exceptionally vulnerable to habitat changes. The World Wildlife Federation
Bibliography: 1) Marine Resources Service, Fishery Resources Division, FAO Fisheries Department. Review of the State of World Marine Fishery Resources. Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2005. 2) Nelleman, Christian, Stefan Hain, and Jackie Alder, eds. In Dead Water: Merging of Climate Change with Pollution, Over-Harvest, and Infestations in the World 's Fishing Grounds. Arendal, Norway: United Nations Environment Programme, GRIDArendal, 2008. 3) Robbins, Jim. "As Fight for Water Heats Up, Prized Fish Suffer." The New York Times, April 1, 2008, p. F4. 4) Sharp, Gary D. Future Climate Change and Regional Fisheries: A Collaborative Analysis. Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2003. 5) Wilson, R. W., et al. "Contribution of Fish to the Marine Inorganic Carbon Cycle." Science 323, no. 5912 (January 16, 2009): 359-362.