The study, led by the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies and Centre for Marine Socioecology, included the analysis of three decades worth of data from 30,000 surveys of reefs around Australia.

And while temperature was found to be a factor in the size of fish, different species reacted differently by either becoming larger or smaller.

In Tasmanian waters, where the fastest warming in Australia has been recorded, up to 66 per cent of species showed changes to their body size.

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Researcher Asta Audzijonyte said Tasmania proved to an important case study.

"As well as happening quite quickly, some of the size changes can also be surprisingly large," she said.

"For example, the change in a median-length temperate fish corresponds to around 12 per cent of its body mass for each 1 degree Celsius of warming.

"At the current rate of warming, in 40 years this would result in around a 40 per cent change in body length, either increasing or decreasing depending on the species."

Fish have been known to become smaller when raised in warmer temperatures in aquariums.

But overall in the study, 55 per cent of fish became smaller in warmer waters as expected, while 45 per cent became larger.

While not a universal trend, larger species appeared to become even larger, while smaller species became smaller.

For tropical species, they were more likely to be smaller at the warm end of their distribution ranges. These were also more likely to become smaller as climate change continued to cause warmer waters.

Dr Audzijonyte said the results showed the impact that warming waters would have on the stability and resilience of ecosystems to other external stressors, including fishing and coastal pollution.

The study has been published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, and was supported in collaboration with the University of Tasmania and governments across Australia.

It also drew upon the support of more than 100 volunteer reef life survey divers across Australia.