14 DAY TRIAL // By now, it should be common knowledge that climate change and global warming are to determine ever more visible shifts in global environmental conditions, leaving many plant and animals species with two main alternatives: either adapt to their new surroundings, or become extinct.
The journal “Global Change Biology” recently saw the publication of a study arguing that, because they are significantly more vulnerable to changes in their living conditions than fish belonging to other species, the common trout presently inhabiting the Iberian Peninsula are to disappear in less than 100 years.
In plain numbers: as much as 50% of their natural habitats will be destroyed by the year 2040 at the latest, and whatever areas still remain available for this species to inhabit will also be destroyed within the following 5-6 decades.
Thus, the year 2100 is quite likely to witness this species' officially becoming extinct in the Iberian Peninsula.
Reporting on these findings, the Alpha Galileo Foundation explains how human-driven phenomena such as climate change and global warming are to be held responsible for trout no longer spawning in this part of the world.
Moreover, environmental scientists warn that using ever increasing amounts of water for irrigation, together with fishing activities that do little to take into consideration the size of existing fish stocks, will contribute to the loss of the trout population.
One of the specialists who looked into this issue, Ana Almodóvar, made a case of how, “This fish has very narrow physiological margins in which it can live and is therefore a good indicator of the highest stretches of our rivers.”
Furthermore, “In the best of cases, which would involve just slight climate changes, the situation for the trout is disastrous.”
Naturally, concerns are likely to soon be raised with respect to how losing this fish species will impact on the local food industry and even the economic stability of communities which rely on fishing activities in order to make a living.