Project Background
Ocean acidification, ocean warming, and hypoxia are changing Washington’s marine waters, posing a variety of immediate and future challenges for natural resource managers and industries. To address this challenge, the University of Washington Program on Climate Change collaborated in 2018 with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Washington Department of Natural Resources to solicit input and guidance from resource managers and industry representatives to identify means to enhance resource management strategies in light of changing ocean conditions and improve coordination between managers and researchers.
Key Data and Research Priorities
Survey respondents identified the top five priorities that would be most beneficial for addressing the impacts of changing ocean conditions on the resource(s) they work with:
- Biological responses of species to changing ocean conditions
Over 75% of respondents chose species tolerance and survival thresholds as one of their top priorities.
- Increased monitoring in nearshore environments
Over 60% of survey respondents identified increased monitoring in the nearshore as a priority.
- Map or summary of most vulnerable locations
Identifying which areas and habitats are considered most vulnerable was a priority of 100% of resource managers.
- Improved data sharing and collaboration
Lack of coordination and data sharing was repeatedly cited as a barrier to effectively addressing the challenge of changing ocean conditions.
- Resource abundance data gaps
Better knowledge of historical and current shellfish and fish populations is needed to differentiate long term cycles from recent anthropogenically caused changes.