This study examines the potential effects of ocean acidification on countries and fisheries of the Mediterranean Sea. The implications for seafood security and supply are evaluated by examining the sensitivity of the Mediterranean to ocean acidification at chemical, biological, and macro-economic levels. The limited information available on impacts of ocean acidification on harvested (industrial, recreational, and artisanal fishing) and cultured species (aquaculture) prevents any biological impact assessment. However, it appears that non-developed nations around the Mediterranean, particularly those for which fisheries are increasing, yet rely heavily on artisanal fleets, are most greatly exposed to socioeconomic consequences from ocean acidification.

The objective of this study is to investigate the impacts of the environmental and socio-economic risks on the fisheries in the Mediterranean region from an economic point of view. A balanced panel of 21 Mediterranean countries for 2001–2018 has been estimated by the GLS method, considering heteroskedasticity and correlation among cross sections. The volume of fish landed and landed values have been considered in two models. The results show that increases in sea bottom and surface temperature, H⁺ ion concentration and salinity threaten the fisheries in the Mediterranean region for the volume of fish landed and that sea surface temperature and salinity negatively influence landed values. In addition, there is an inverse U-shaped relationship between human population and fisheries. Moreover, the Human Development Index (HDI), an indicator of countries’ adaptive capacity, has a positive impact on fisheries and indicates that countries can safeguard fisheries by improving their adaptive capacity. Finally, our results strongly show the risk of climate change for the fisheries in the Mediterranean region and that fisheries are adversely impacted by climate change as well as worsening socio-economic conditions in the absence of adaptation plans.

Concern for the future requires local steward-led cooperation between natural and social scientists and decision-makers to develop informed and policy-relevant nature-based mitigation solutions, including blue carbon (BC), which can help secure the future. Salt marshes, kelp forests, and seagrass meadows (and to a lesser extent mangroves) are significant BC ecosystems in temperate areas. We discuss the concept of blue carbon stocks and the scientific approaches to building BC stocks considering the variability in local conditions and the co-benefits of blue carbon ecosystems to improve climate change mitigation and adaptation mechanisms. The study examines (1) methods to assess the potential of BC ecosystems and the impact of disturbances, while (2) building relevant policy based on socio-economic assessments of impacted communities. We highlight economic and social approaches to rebuilding BC using financial tools such as blue bonds, development plans, cost-benefit analyses, cross-ecosystem restoration projects, AI and blockchain, and economic accounts of coastal ecosystems, while emphasizing that cutting carbon emissions is more important than (re)building BC stocks.

This paper explores empirical evidence as well as a theoretical model of fisheries in the Black Sea which have become depleted as a result of both environmental degradation and overexploitation. We examine overfishing and the optimal fish catch, and derive evolutionary stable strategies (ESS) from a game theory perspective by using agent risk profiles. We explain how risk-averse fishers may choose to fish at unsustainable levels, even though it may reduce their overall fish catch in the long run. Risk attitudes of artisanal fishers within the frameworks of expected utility and prospect theories also have implications on risk aversion and non-cooperation. We explore how social norms between fishers could encourage cooperation in fishing at sustainable levels, but find that these norms and information networks have not developed enough in the Black Sea to be effective.