Fish and chips portions could shrink as global warming attacks Scots shoals
Rising sea temperatures and limited oxygen has meant fish are growing to a smaller size than they should.
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Researchers have found new evidence that global warming is affecting the size of commercial fish species, documenting for the first time that juvenile fish are getting bigger, as well as confirming that adult fish are getting smaller as sea temperatures rise.
Juvenile fish grew more quickly and reached their maximum size at a younger age
3 February 2021 • 6:00pm
Fishing boats at Tarbert Harbour in the west of Scotland last month
Credit: Jeff J Mitchell /Getty Images Europe
A piece of battered cod and a generous helping of chips is one of Britain s best-loved meals.
But our favourite fish are shrinking due to warmer seas - and it could lead to less of it making its way to our plates.
Scientists at the University of Aberdeen examined four key commercial fish species - cod, haddock, whiting and saithe - and found that full-grown fish were reaching smaller sizes in both the North Sea and the West of Scotland.
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Researchers have found new evidence that global warming is affecting the size of commercial fish species, documenting for the first time that juvenile fish are getting bigger, as well as confirming that adult fish are getting smaller as sea temperatures rise. The findings are published in the British Ecological Society s
Journal of Applied Ecology.
The researchers from the University of Aberdeen looked at four of the most important commercial fish species in the North Sea and the West of Scotland: cod, haddock, whiting and saithe. They found that juvenile fish in the North Sea and on the West of Scotland have been getting bigger while adult fish have been getting smaller. These changes in body size correlated with rising sea temperatures in both regions.
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