Climate Witness: Willy Versluys, Belgium

Posted on 23 January 2009

Fishing fleet owner Willy Versluys from Ostend describes how warming in the North Sea has brought new fish and pests to his fishing grounds in the North Sea. He also has concerns about how the increase in storms will affect his fishing fleet.

“I’m Willy Versluys from Ostend. I am 60 years old and have been working for thirty years now as a ship-owner. At present, my fleet consists of five fishing boats on which about 25 fishermen are employed. Of these, three vessels are being used for coastal fishing. But the bigger boats sail further out: from the Gulf of Biscay in France, along the east coast of Ireland to the southern border of Norway. Owing to these widely dispersed fishing grounds, my fishermen have a good overview of the goings on in a large part of the North Sea.

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We hear a great deal about climate change on TV and in the newspapers, but in the fishing nets and in the fish market we see the change with our own eyes.

The changes in climate are already noticeable in the North Sea.

The waters of the North Sea are becoming warmer and therefore we are seeing many species of warm water fishes extending their natural habitat from the Atlantic Ocean to the south into the North Sea. The fishermen are now catching species which they never or very rarely caught ten years ago. Examples of species of fish being caught more and more are: various species of cephalopods (octopus, squid, cuttlefish), bass, lesser weever, anchovy, large quantities of mackerel and carangids.

However, the warmer North Sea is not only attracting new species of fish, but also increasing numbers of jellyfish. The problem with jellyfish is that they get entangled in the nets and this can cause an enormous hindrance to coastal fishing, even making it unsafe.

The Japanese oysters lodge themselves in the sluice gates, as a result of which they can be no longer closed properly.

In addition, exotic species of fish are getting the opportunity to establish themselves permanently in the North Sea. A spectacular example of this is the Japanese oyster which was imported during the sixties to various places in Europe under the name “creuse” . At first, it was thought that this species would not be able to breed here because the temperature is too low for the development of the larva. Although initially this appeared to be true, now the Japanese oysters are a real plague. I hear from the captains of the harbour services that their population is growing continuously in the harbours. They even lodge themselves between the sluice gates, as a result of which these can no longer be closed properly.

It is true that the growth of new species could be advantageous for us fishermen. But despite this, we do not have a very rosy view of the future. Studies predict that jellyfish will increase in even greater numbers over the coming years and this can make coastal fishing more difficult. The rise in the number of storms could also increasingly interfere with coastal fishing, such as the shrimp catch in autumn. Fishermen can now go out to sea for about 150 days a year. If there are more storms, they will have to either remain on land or take more risks.

The increased number of storms can hamper shrimp fishing.

The possibility of fishing different, newly appearing varieties of fish requires different techniques and different approaches, which need to be less energy-consuming than the trawling technique we currently use. Conserving energy is possible in our sector through the use of less energy-intensive fishing techniques, energy-saving vessels and renewable sources of energy. Vessels must, in that sense, be adapted and fishermen must be trained in the new techniques and learn to fish new and existing species of fish in a sustainable way. We must be ready for this.

Moreover, constantly anticipating and responding to a change of mentality amongst the captains is of great importance. They must be convinced that they can save a significant amount of energy by using the current techniques with some basic modifications and that they will still be able to carry out fishing operations in a profitable and sustainable way.

At present, climate change is very clearly noticeable in the fishing sector. As a result of the fishing quota and the high fuel prices, we already have to start adapting our ways by investing in economical engines and specifically adapted, sustainable fishing techniques. But far too extreme changes in our climate can, in the long run, be catastrophic for sea life in the North Sea and the fishing sector.

That is why I, on behalf of the fisheries sector, would like to call everyone to accept their responsibility in drastically reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. We are not just the requesting party, we will also actively cooperate in this process.”

Scientific review

Reviewed by: Jan Seys, Flemish Institute for the Sea (VLIZ), Belgium

The observations described by Willy Versluys are consistent with the scientific literature on climate change. The average temperature of the North Sea has risen by 0.6 to 1°C in the period 1950-2000 and the trend continues.(1)

Marine biologists observe a shift in the distribution of the mentioned fish species(2) and a significant rise in the population of the Japanese oyster(1) and jellyfish(3) in the North Sea.

At present, there is still no significant change in the number or intensity of the storms in the North Sea. However, climate models predict more extreme wind speeds(4) and surges(5) and more storms(6) along the coast.

References:
1. Perry, A.L., J.P. Low, J.R. Ellis & J.D. Reynolds, 2005. Climate change and distribution shifts in marine fishes. Science 308: 1912-1915.
2. Kerckhof, F. & J. Seys, 2006. Fauna en flora in een opwarmende Noordzee. Grote Rede 13, infomagazine Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee (VLIZ). http://www.vliz.be/docs/groterede/GR13_fauna.pdf
3. Edwards, M., A.W.G. John, & D.G. Johns, 2007. Annual Report 2006, Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science (SAHFOS). http://www.sahfos.ac.uk/annual_reports/annual%20report%202006>/2006_ann_report_final_all_sections.pdf
4. Rockel, B. & K. Woth, 2007. Extremes of near-surface wind speed over Europe and their future changes as estimated from an ensemble of RCM simulations. Climatic Change, 81, S267-S280.
5. - Hulme, M., G. Jenkins, X. Lu, J.R. Turnpenny, T.D. Mitchell, R.G. Jones, J. Lowe, J.M. Murphy, D. Hassell, P. Boorman, R. McDonald & S. Hill, 2002. Climate Change Scenarios for the United Kingdom: The UKCIP02 Scientific Report, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, University of East Anglia, Norwich,120 pp.
- Meier, H.E.M., B. Broman & E. Kjellström 2004. Simulated sea level in past and future climates of the Baltic Sea. Clim. Res., 27, 59-75.
- Lowe, J. A. & J.M. Gregory, 2005: The effects of climate change on storm surges around the United Kingdom. Philos. Trans. Roy. Soc. London, 363, 1313-1328.
6. Woth, K., R. Weisse & H. von Storch, 2005. Climate change and North Sea storm surge extremes: an ensemble study of storm surge extremes expected in a changed climate projected by four different regional climate models. OceanDyn., doi: 10.1007/s10236-005-0024-3.

All articles are subject to scientific review by a member of the Climate Witness Science Advisory Panel.

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