Fresh wild and farmed Loch Duart salmon filets are in San Francisco, California. To the north, climate change could cut First Nation fisheries stocks in half, a new study found. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Indigenous populations in coastal Canada could experience a 50-percent decline in their fishery catches, according to a new study. This could lead to future economic losses between $6.7 and 12 million in British Columbia annually by 2050.

"Climate change is likely to lead to declines in herring and salmon, which are among the most important species commercially, culturally, and nutritionally for First Nations," said Lauren Weatherdon, who conducted the study as a University of British Columbia graduate student, in a press release. "This could have large implications for communities who have been harvesting these fish and shellfish for millennia."

Increasing ocean temperatures and oxygen levels could impact species habitat and survival, the authors noted, after examining fish populations under two climate models: one as a high-emission scenario, and one as a low-emission scenario. At most, 98 species in the region could be impacted, moving away from their current habitats toward cooler water.

"The shifts in the distributions of these stocks are quite important because First Nations are generally confined to their traditional territories when fishing for food, social and ceremonial purposes," said Weatherdon in the press release.

This historic file photo from 1890 shows a native fisherman with his day's catch, a large salmon, in British Columbia. (A Bayley-Worthington/Getty Images)

Previously, The Weather Channel investigated the impact of climate change on indigenous community . Experts noted that for more than 20 years, communities have reported that weather patterns — and in turn, whaling season — have become harder to predict because of increasing year-to-year climatic variance.

Recently, a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences examined 127 species across the globe, and found that climate change could drop populations by . But scientists cautioned that this figure is variable and nuanced; some species will thrive in warmer environments while other suffer.

Regardless, co-author of the new study William Cheung, Ph.D., of the University of British Columbia, said reducing emissions as proposed by the Paris climate deal could mitigate concerns of coastal communities.

"Limiting global warming effectively to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the 21st century, as represented by the low-emission scenario considered by our study, can substantially reduce [climate] impacts," he said.

The study, "Projected Scenarios for Coastal First Nations’ Fisheries Catch Potential under Climate Change: Management Challenges and Opportunities," was published in the journal .