This early and comprehensive report, "Vulnerability Assessment of the North East Atlantic to Climate Change", by Trevor Baker in 2005, covers the impacts of climate change on all bio-physical parameters of the NE Atlantic. The report identifies the how the effects of changes at the base of the food chain can knock on to impact top predators. Critically, it assesses how impacts can cause the links between different parts of the marine food chain to become strained or broken (trophic mismatch).

The Marine Climate Impacts Partnership publishes an annual report card with information about the impacts of climate change on a wide range of aspects of the marine ecosystem including on fish and fisheries communities. It is written by leading UK marine and climate scientists and undergoes a peer review process. The report card is a summary of more detailed backing documents which are available on line. 2010-2011’s report has some key findings in relation to fish and fisheries.

This extensive report with a global focus is the output from an FAO convened expert workshop. It outlines why fisheries are key to people across the world, stating that more than 2.8 billion people across the world, rely on aquatic foods for 20% or more of their animal protein intake. Technical discussions at the work shop were based around three comprehensive reports: Physical and ecological impacts of climate change relevant to marine and inland capture fisheries and aquaculture

This 2010 report from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) on cod and climate change, supports the findings of previous work on cod and climate change in the NE Atlantic region in concluding that both temperature and fishing pressure are key to cod stocks. The summary of the report has some important findings:

This report summarises research on past and present states of north-east Atlantic cod stocks, with particular focus on the North Sea regional stocks. The relative effects of fishing pressure and climate change are examined, and the many ways in which the climate can directly and indirectly affect stock success are highlighted. The interaction between these two stressors on the North Sea cod populations is explained and recommendations made for the future assessment and management of North Sea cod stocks in the light of continued climate change.

This report finds that, during the course of the last century, populations of Atlantic cod Gadus morhua L. have undergone dramatic declines in abundance across their biogeographic range, leading to debate about the relative roles of climatic warming and overfishing in driving these changes. Although thermal regimes clearly define the biogeographic range of the species, and strongly influence many aspects of cod biology, the evidence that population declines across the North Atlantic are strongly linked to fishing activity is now overwhelming.

Climate change impacts nearly every aspect of the marine environment and life in the seas, primarily, but not exclusively, through rising temperatures. In addition to the impacts of climate change on the ocean, the added CO2 in the atmosphere is having an additional impact on the ocean and life within it, that of ocean acidification.