Global Warming Is Changing the Gulf of Maine, Imperiling Its Lobster, Fish Catch

The words "Maine" and "lobster" go hand-in-hand, but the day is coming when the Pine Tree State's rocky coastline will no longer be home to its most famous crustacean.

That's because the Gulf of Maine is warming faster than 99 percent of the world's oceans, scientists say, pushing out long-established species of commercial fish like cod, herring and northern shrimp, which are quickly departing for colder waters further north.

Meanwhile, black sea bass, blue crabs and new species of squid -- all highly unusual for the Gulf -- are turning up in fishermen's nets.

The Gulf of Maine's warming reflects broader trends around the North Atlantic. But the statistic -- accepted by scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration -- underscores particular fears about the Gulf's unique ecosystem and the lucrative fishing industries it supports for three U.S. states and two Canadian provinces.

"These changes are very real, and we're seeing them happen quickly," said Malin Pinsky, a biology professor at New Jersey's Rutgers University who studies ocean temperature change and was not involved in the research that resulted in the 99 percent statistic.

It is a rallying point for environmental activists, who see the response to the temperature rise and its impact on fisheries as a touchstone for the global debate about climate change.

"The warming is already here," said Jeff Young, a spokesman for Pew Charitable Trust's oceans project, which has campaigned in favor of restrictions on fishing for herring, another species leaving for colder water. "And we have to deal with it."

The rising waters in the Gulf -- a big dent in the East Coast stretching from Massachusetts to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick -- have interfered with the work of Diane Cowan, founder of the Lobster Conservancy, who has conducted lobster censuses in New England for 22 years.

The changes threaten a three-state industry valued at more than $1 billion in 2012, a year in which fishermen caught more than 550 million pounds, NOAA statistics say.

Governments are reacting by creating new commercial fisheries; Maine regulators are in the process of creating a licensing process for black sea bass, a species associated more with the mid-Atlantic.

http://www.wunderground.com/news/warming-gulf-maine-imperils-lobster-20140903