Global Warming and Its Economic Effects on the Anchovy Fishery and Tourism Sector in North-Western Spain

In recent years much evidence has been gathered on climate change and its impact on different sectors and systems. Global warming is one of the main threats to sustainable development and, consequently, one of the most significant environmental challenges in the last decades affecting the economy, health and social welfare. It is necessary, therefore, to identify evidence of the impact of global warming on biodiversity and carry out an economic evaluation. In the specific case of marine ecosystems, changes in rainfall frequency and intensity, acidity, water temperature, wind, dissolved CO2 and salinity, combined with anthropogenic nutrient and toxin contamination, can affect water quality both in coastal regions as well as in the open sea. All of this will consequently affect the productivity of the marine environment. And given that fishing is one of the economic activities which critically depend on natural conditions or characteristics, the influence of environmental changes on fishing is notably higher than that which might occur in other primary activities. Furthermore, climate has a vital impact on the tourism and recreation sector and, therefore, this sector will be affected by any changes in climate. In this chapter, we assess the possible economic effects (losses or gains) of global warming on some of the main economic activities in north-western Spain. The economy of this region specialises in products derived from fishing and aquaculture as well as tourism, among others (IGE – Galician Statistics Institute-, 2010), and both activities are extremely sensitive to environmental conditions. It is highly probable that global warming will alter the intensity and conformation of ocean currents, affect marine organisms and generate coastal alterations (IPCC, 2007). Such environmental changes will have important repercussions on these economic activities. A considerable number of studies have been carried out internationally which have aimed to assess the economic effects of climate change on these activities. Among other references in the case of fishing, we would underline the following: Arnason (2005) evaluates the possible impact of climate change on Iceland’s fishery production, proposing different scenarios involving temperature increase; along the same lines, Eide (2005) analyses the possible impact on the Barents Sea fisheries; Gallagher (2005) makes an application to the New Zealand cod fishery, differentiating between zone and fishing method; Röckmann