Climate change and British Columbia’s staple seafood supply and prices

Changes in ocean physics and chemistry under climate change are already impacting upon marine organisms, ecosystems, and the services they provide us, including seafood. This impacts upon British Columbian (BC) waters, Canada, and will have direct impacts on supply of the ‘staple seafood’ consumed by residents of BC. The authors discuss how these changes would affect seafood household budgets of British Columbians under climate change. The study projects that prices of iconic west coast species will increase under the climate change scenario. The net change in price attributable to climate change costs British Columbians up to $110 million a year in 2015 dollars and this imposes significant burden on household budgets. Impacts on the oceans provide compelling arguments for rapid reductions in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. To effectively mitigate the CO2 emissions requires immediate action and collaboration among different levels, from individual and private actors to the government and intergovernment levels.