26 January 2010: The Commonwealth Secretariat has published a study titled “Climate Change, Fisheries, Trade and Competitiveness: Understanding impacts and formulating responses to Commonwealth small States,” which focuses on the likely impacts of climate change on the trade and competitiveness of the fisheries sector in small developing Commonwealth States.

Based on a literature review, the study addresses: climate change impact pathways on oceans, lakes and rivers, fish populations and ecosystems; potential climate change impacts on the fisheries sector and communities directly dependent on it; vulnerability and resilience of fisheries-dependent economies to climate change; case studies in Kenya, Maldives and Solomon Islands; impacts of climate change on trade and competitiveness; and the inter-linkages between climate change and fisheries trade policies. The study concludes that both adaptation and mitigation in the fisheries sector are likely to be critical for small developing Commonwealth States in maintaining or increasing trade competitiveness, and in realizing the opportunities emanating from globalization. [The Study]