Resilience and adaptive capacity of arctic marine systems under a changing climate (RACArctic)

Project Description

This project will synthesize information from completed and ongoing regional studies conducted by three member countries (Japan, USA, Norway) to examine how variability and changes in advection, temperature, ocean acidity and ice dynamics in the Subarctic to Arctic transition zone may affect future marine ecosystems of the Pacific and Atlantic Arctic. In particular, we are interested in how fish populations and their prey respond to, and may adapt to, natural and anthropogenic changes in the Arctic and how their responses are expected to affect existing and future fisheries, subsistence harvests, and the socio-economic systems that depend upon them. Input from a variety of stakeholders who directly or indirectly depend on living marine resources will be solicited to identify issues of concern, including threats and opportunities, across member countries. We will also review the ability of current management frameworks in each country to adapt to anticipated changes and new challenges as identified in our synthesis of research findings and stakeholder inputs. The strengths and weaknesses of management institutions will be identified and will be compared across countries in terms of their resilience and their capacity to adapt to anticipated challenges associated with global warming and ocean acidification. This review and analysis will serve to lay the foundation for developing best practices for building resilient institutions with respect to data collection needs, scientific capacity, and policy frameworks.