Climate-Smart Strategies to Develop Resilience in Artisanal Fisheries of Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas

Fishing is a vital part of Mediterranean coastal life, supporting over 180,000 livelihoods and generating an industry worth €4.6 billion annually. It is also one of the most climate-sensitive marine regions in the world, warming at a rate two to three times faster than the global average. Rising temperatures, sea level increases, and ocean acidification are disrupting marine life, altering species distributions, and challenging traditional fisheries. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have been shown to help mitigate these impacts as well as sustain small-scale fisheries and restore overexploited stocks but often lack a focus on climate change.

Dr. Marina Sanz-Martín, an AXA research fellow at the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (CSIC), led the CLISSARTES project, carrying out extensive analysis of long-term data to identify vulnerabilities in fish populations, and forecast species shifts based on changes in ocean conditions. Her research, published in Ecological Indicators, analyzed distribution changes of 102 demersal species in the Western Mediterranean from 1994-2019, including commercially important fish like Hake, Red Mullet, and Sole. She found that many of these species are moving southward and southwestward to maintain their preferred depths and temperatures, despite their adaptability to changing conditions.

As fish relocate, fishermen must follow them to new areas, leading to longer trips, higher fuel costs, and greater operational expenses. Alarmingly, many species are shifting toward more environmentally unstable and vulnerable regions, potentially putting at risk commercially valuable species. Such climate-driven migrations may cause certain areas to become less productive, reducing fishing opportunities for local communities that rely on stable stocks. As such, Dr. Sanz-Martín is identifying zones with stable environmental conditions, known as marine climate refugia, to protect these havens for species that need them the most.

By connecting scientific research on marine refugia with existing conservation approaches, she advocates for the development of “climate-smart” MPAs that impose new regulations to control fishing activities. This could involve dynamic quotas to adjust catch limits based on real-time climate and stock assessments, or climate corridors to protect migration routes for species as they move. Hence, indicators such as ‘climate velocity’ data are key for future policies to ensure adaptation plans are region-specific and develop conservation strategies to secure fish stocks and coastal livelihoods before 2030.

Beyond her research, Dr. Sanz-Martín has been an active contributor to the scientific community. She has presented her findings at several major conferences, including the 9^th World Fisheries Conference, the Ocean Decade Conference, and Effects of Climate change in the World’s Ocean Conference Fish Forum 2024. Additionally, she has co-authored several scientific publications, engaged with stakeholders through workshops and collaborative initiatives and given talks to the general public to bring science closer to society.

Nowadays, she is expanding her research through two visiting postdoctoral positions, at Marine Hopkins Station at Stanford University and at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University, where she investigates the velocity of climate change and potential marine climate refugia for biodiversity and in fisheries. She is now seeking grants to continue her work and build stronger research collaborations between Stanford University, Stony Brook University and CSIC.

May 2025

Related Links:

• Podcast: Climate-smart strategies to develop resilience in artisanal fisheries of Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas (CLISSARTES) - Ocean Decade

• Summary video: Marina Sanz-Martin: Strategies to Develop Resilience in Artisanal Fisheries | AXA Research Fund - YouTube

• Article: Climate-smart strategies to develop resilience of artisanal fisheries in Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas - Ocean Decade