https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220207100119.htm

"If carbon emissions continue to increase at their current rate the resilience to climate change of seafood species that are mainstays of the EU market, such as great Atlantic scallop, red mullet, and common octopus, will be weakened by the combined onslaught of overfishing, ocean warming, and mercury pollution," said lead author Dr. Ibrahim Issifu, a postdoctoral fellow at UBC's Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries (IOF). "The population of these species will be reduced to a fraction of their present size by the end of the century."

The study is one of the first to examine the combined effects of rising temperatures, overfishing, and mercury pollution on fish in EU waters. The research team selected 20 European fish species that have the highest average annual total catch and revenue, and they determined the temperature tolerance range for each of these species, using previous estimates of their preferred temperatures. The authors then compared this range with previously projected temperature increases in EU waters over the course of the century under both high and low carbon emission scenarios. Finally, differing levels of mercury concentrations, as well as unsustainable degrees of fishing, were built into the model.