A study carried out by scientists from the Oceanographic Centre of the Balearic Islands, of the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO), indicates that several marine species in the Mediterranean develop synchronous responses to the effects produced by the combination of fishing exploitation and climate variability.

This is a study carried out together with researchers from the Spanish National Research Council and the University of the Balearic Islands, published in the ICES Journal of Marine Science, through which the evolution in the marketed catches of several species from the Balearic Islands has been analysed. In total, three cephalopods such as octopus, cuttlefish and squid; two bony fish such as mullet and hake; and two elasmobranch fish, such as catshark and ray. This research has studied the overfishing status of these species, which has led to an increase in sensitivity to climate effects.

To study this situation, the researchers have looked at climate indices that reveal how they affect species that inhabit deeper waters, such as hake. An example of the effect that the combination of fishing and climate has on these species, and which allows us to observe the greater sensitivity of Mediterranean ecosystems to climate change.