STRICT conservation areas should be imposed to combat the impact of rising sea temperatures, according to the chair of the Société Jersiaise Marine Biology Section.
Nick Jouault said that the continuing trend of warming waters “affects us all”.
Jersey Met recently highlighted the higher-than-average sea surface temperatures around the Island, which senior forecaster Matt Winter said have been “increasing gradually over the course of the last 60 years or so” and continue to show “an upward trend”.
In July, the sea was around 1°C higher than average for the time of year – which was also the case for April, May and June 2025.
Mr Jouault said that the Island was seeing “a lot more Mediterranean species”, citing increased numbers of Dendrodoris limbata – a type of sea slug – as an example.
He also noted more frequent sightings of bluefin tuna as well as octopuses.
The latter change was raised as a concern by a fishing merchant earlier this year, who warned that the tentacled predators were doing “a lot of damage” to potential lobster, crab and scallop catches.
Paul Dufty, owner of Sumas Restaurant and chair of the Jersey Hospitality Association’s restaurant sub-sector, subsequently encouraged restaurateurs to “support local” and adapt to “what’s being caught” by including octopus on their menus.
Commenting on the potential impact of warming waters, Mr Jouault said: “Obviously commercially it is going to have a massive impact on the fishing fleet, but it affects us all.
“As an island, we thrive on our waters being healthy and sustainable.
“That’s where strict conservation areas are a good thing – they are very robust against such things as warming waters, so maybe we should be looking at better protections in some areas.”
