Study says warming world could devastate fisheries, reefs

BERLIN – A study commissioned by 14 seafaring nations predicts that unchecked climate change could devastate fishery industries and coral reef tourism, causing hundreds of billions of dollars in losses by 2050.

The report to be published Friday on sidelines of a U.N. climate summit in Madrid says limiting global warming would lessen the economic impact for coastal countries but they also need to adapt to ocean changes.

The authors say fish will migrate to cooler waters as oceans heat up and become more acidic, jeopardizing some fishing communities.

While regions near the equator will suffer fish stock declines, the report forecasts increases in Arctic and Antarctic Oceans.

Reef tourism is likely to suffer as corals die off, largely wiping out a multibillion-dollar industry in several countries by the end of the century, according to the report.