Examining the Role of Economic Complexity and Climate Readiness in the Climate‐Fishing Nexus

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the climate‐fisheries association in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations from 1999 to 2022. A key objective is to explore the role of both the economic complexity index (ECI) and the climate readiness factor (READ) in the climate‐fishing nexus. Besides, the analysis includes a comparative analysis between GCC sample and five other samples to evaluate the sensitivity of the findings and explore possible inconsistencies. The results undoubtedly reveal that greenhouse gasses (GHG) emissions and precipitation (PERC) increase the fishing grounds footprint (FGF), in contrast to temperature rates (TEMP) and wind gusts (WIND). Nevertheless, the analysis also identifies a U‐shaped relationship between FGF and both TEMP and WIND, and an inverted U shape with PERC. Notably, the findings confirm that ECI contributes to a larger FGF both directly and indirectly by aggravating the damaging effect of GHG. In contrast, READ was found to have a pronounced effect in reducing FGF, both directly and indirectly, by diminishing GHG‐induced impacts. Hence, these findings offer important insights into the climate‐fisheries relationship and provide policy guidance for alleviating pressure on marine assets and promoting a sustainable marine ecosystem, in line with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14: Life Below Water.