Australians could be throwing fish of a different kind on the barbie thanks to climate change.

A new assessment of the impact global warming will have on the country’s fisheries says many species will not do well. “But the report finds there may be new opportunities for some wild fisheries where tropical species shift southward,” says minister for climate change Penny Wong (press release).

Always look on the bright side.

Long-spined sea urchins may spread south, devastating the Tasmanian rock lobster and abalone fisheries, northern prawn fisheries may collapse, coral reef species will be reduced and rainfall changes will not be good for catches of barramundi, prawns and mud crabs, warns the report. But tropical fish may come further south, so hungry Antipodeans can eat those instead.

However Wong isn’t totally upbeat:

This report is yet another reminder that climate change imposes costs on this nation – costs not only in terms of our way of life, but in terms of the economic costs to our industries and to our communities. We need to implement a carbon pollution reduction scheme. We do need to prepare for the climate change that we are unable to avoid, and this report is a contribution to that… We have to adapt and we have to plan. (AAP.)

More coverage

Fisheries at serious risk from warming – Canberra Times

Climate change threatens Australian fisheries – Reuters

Image: Getty