IIFET 2012 Tanzania Proceedings
The implications of climate change in Australian seafood markets
Ana Norman*, Sean Pascoe**, Olivier Theaubaud**
*CSIRO
**CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research
Abstract
Climate change is expected to impact the productivity of wild and farmed fisheries worldwide. These impacts will
vary by region and consequently affect differently the supply to markets. Market driven interactions between
fisheries from different regions and between different target species means that changes in supply from one region
or species will have an impact on producers in other regions supplying the market. This is because, as supply to
markets change, prices will re-adjust to the point where the quantity demanded by consumers and the quantity
supplied by different producers is equal. For Australia, where edible seafood exports represented over 50% of the
total value of production in 2008-09; changes to export prices will have significant economic implications. This is
exacerbated by the fact that he value of Australian exports is particularly sensitive to price changes as it specializes
in high-value, low tonnage species, such as, rock lobster, prawns and tuna. The current analysis, investigates the
inter-relationship between Australian seafood products exports and other seafood products in international markets.
A relationship (substitutability) between Australian and international seafood products will highlight that climate
change will not impact Australian fisheries production in isolation. Instead, climate change will also impact
Australian seafood through the prices they receive as a result of changes in world supply of competing products.