Statement from world aquatic scientific societies on the need to take urgent action against human-caused climate change, based on scientific evidence

Abstract

The Southern African Society of Aquatic Scientists (SASAqS) has a membership of 250, representing individuals and organisations involved in all aspects of aquatic sciences in academia, the private sector (e.g. environmental consultancies and environmental practioners in industry) and government (local, provincial and national government). On 14 September 2020, SASAqS joined forces with 110 aquatic scientific societies, representing more than 80 000 scientists across the world to sound a climate change alarm. This initiative, led by the American Fisheries Society (AFS), calls for drastically curtailed global greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the worst impacts of human-made climate change to fish and aquatic ecosystems. Unless urgent action is taken to reduce emissions, scientists predict catastrophic impacts to commercial, recreational, and subsistence fisheries, as well as human health and global economies