Minister for Climate Change and Water, Senator Penny Wong, today released a case study report on the vulnerability and adaptive capacity of Tasmania's east coast rock lobster fishery system to climate change.

The report - East coast Tasmanian rock lobster fishery - vulnerability to climate change impacts and adaptation response options - predicts future climate change impacts on the system and assesses the capacity of rock lobster fishers to adapt to predicted climate impacts.

It identifies a range of possible adaptation responses available to resource users and managers on the east coast of Tasmania - an area already experiencing the impacts of climate change.

"Climate change is already having an impact on species, habitats, and ecological communities in the area and this is expected to continue in the future, impacting on dependent industries, such as the rock lobster industry,'' Senator Wong said.

"The east coast of Tasmania has experienced warming over the last few decades at three to four times the global average and this has been impacting catches for a considerable period."

The team - led by Dr Gretta Pecl of the Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute - included researchers from the University of Tasmania, CSIRO Climate Adaptation Flagship, Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries and Water, University of Washington.

"The report provides industry and government with longer term horizons to plan adaptation and management and demonstrates how actions today should consider climate change projections," Professor Colin Buxton, Director of the Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute, said.

Tasmanian Rock Lobster Fishermen's Association chief executive officer Rodney Treloggen said industry involvement in the project had raised awareness of the significance of climate change to the industry, and would encourage the industry to be more proactive.

"A well informed industry will be more proactive and will therefore more effectively manage the impacts of climate change, compared with an industry that ignores the threat," Mr Treloggen said.

The report is available at www.climatechange.gov.au .