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Earth Businesses Science

Climate Change Drives Fish Into New Waters, Remaking an Industry (wsj.com) 87

The catch is shifting northward as water temperatures rise, forcing crews to retool their boats and rework their businesses. From a report: Aboard the Stanley K and the Oracle, two 58-foot vessels, Buck Laukitis and his crews chase halibut across the Bering Sea worth $5 a pound at the docks. As sea temperatures rise, and Arctic ice retreats the fish appear to be avoiding warming waters, migrating northward where they cost more to reach, federal fisheries biologists say. Twice this past fall, the Oracle sailed 800 miles north from the seaport of Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands, before finding the halibut that a decade ago lived several hundred miles closer to home. Each voyage took twice as long and yielded half as many fish. "It keeps me up at night," he says. "I woke up at three in the morning. I couldn't sleep thinking about where the fish are going."

Across the continent from Mr. Laukitis in Rhode Island, black sea bass have moved in with the warming waters. The bulk once lived roughly 700 miles south off North Carolina. Now they are a staple catch in Point Judith, R.I., along with the summer flounder that also have begun appearing. [...] The impact of climate change has a price, and for fishing-boat owners in sea ports, that means following the catch. The northward movement of fish around the world is disrupting some fishing grounds and revitalizing others -- and fishing businesses are trying to adapt their operations.

The impact of temperature on oceans is varied. As the atmosphere warmed in recent decades, oceans absorbed heat unevenly, causing marine hot spots that can last months, scientists say. Spikes of warmer water affect fisheries differently depending on ocean currents, ocean depth and seafloor topography. Higher temperatures mean less dissolved oxygen in the water while increasing a fish's demand for oxygen by speeding up its metabolism. Warming water may also favor predators or drive off species on which commercial fish feed. All told, warming ocean temperatures are pushing hundreds of marine species outside of their traditional ranges, ocean scientists say.

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Climate Change Drives Fish Into New Waters, Remaking an Industry

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  • by rsilvergun ( 571051 ) on Sunday December 23, 2018 @09:19AM (#57849084)
    with the lobster industry. One of the frustrating (or amusing if I'm feeling mean) things is watching several "red" states (e.g. they vote GOP, the party currently calling Climate Change a hoax) clearly impacted. Florida had a huge problem with red tide this year. If it keeps getting worse it'll kill their tourist industry. Meanwhile the SEC filings, where mega corps aren't allowed to lie, are chock full of lines about the negative impacts of climate change.

    I'm not necessarily blaming the rank and file though. Most of the Dems don't really have a solution besides "consume less", which would be great if a) the vast majority of pollution was from consumers and not the companies they buy from and b) folks weren't living paycheck to paycheck so on edge they're terrified of any change. A few lefties like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have suggested a "Green New Deal" to address this, but the Clinton Democrats (the right wing of the party) don't want to tax their wealthy donors to pay for it all.

    So the result is this, we're all going to hell in a handbasket and just pretending it's not happening.
    • by Steve Jackson ( 4687763 ) on Sunday December 23, 2018 @09:28AM (#57849102)
      I live in Florida in the Midst of the Red Tide Area of Sarasota.... The issue with Red Tide IS NOT a climate issue. Its Phosphorus miners dumping MASSIVE AMOUNTS of Phosphorus waste into the Rivers and Channels that lead to the bay. The Overabundance of their favorite food, PHOSPHORUS, makes the red algae reproduce and grow out of control. Choking the local flora and fauna out, as well as causing noxious fumes from their death on the shores, making being at the beach difficult, as it stings to breathe. The Red Tide, has ZERO to do with "Climate Change" Not to say that there are not other good examples where climate change IS the cause, this just isn't one of them.
      • by gtall ( 79522 ) on Sunday December 23, 2018 @10:00AM (#57849192)

        And yet Florida rewards the governor who refuse to check the miners with a Senate seat. Florida deserves this.

        • Well frankly the Democrats weren't pro Trump enough which is my important than killing off the gulf of Mexico. Both Republican candidates had red hats and warned of scary liberals.

          So the population spoke which is made up of white rednecks

      • that's where climate change comes in. Red Tide due to phosphorus is a problem, but it's exacerbated by warming due to climate change. All sorts of things we used to get away with become untenable once climate change is factored in.
      • I live in Florida in the Midst of the Red Tide Area of Sarasota.... The issue with Red Tide IS NOT a climate issue. Its Phosphorus miners dumping MASSIVE AMOUNTS of Phosphorus waste into the Rivers and Channels that lead to the bay

        But why not blame it on climate change if it will get people and governments to act?

      • by argStyopa ( 232550 ) on Sunday December 23, 2018 @03:28PM (#57850262) Journal

        This is the same issue with the Great Barrier Reef; our farmers here are dumping massive amounts of phosphorus runoff which is negatively affecting the reef. In tests where this runoff has been abated, the Reef has bounced back with surprising resilience.

        Again, ZERO to do with climate change. Everything to do with farmers, and in most cased industrialized farming.

      • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

        A bit of an oversimplification maybe?

        I used to have the misfortune of living in the minimum wage state for 6 of the worst years of my life.

        First, let's start by saying that "Sun and fun" and "I don't have to shovel rain" are not good enough reasons to move to the state of apathy known as Florida. Florida has endless problems and not least among them is "We really don't care about anything so long as it doesn't make us actually work or learn.". Additionally, Florida is crippled by a population who votes almo
      • Somewhat, wrong.
        You are correct that the PRIMARY cause of red tide is the extra nitrates, Phosphorus, and Fe that enables the red tide microorganisms to thrive. However, normally, there is fast tidal movement that sweeps through the gulf and moves the PO4, nitrates, and Fe out of the gulf and up along the American eastern coastline, which as you know, runs up to Europe and warms them. Issue is, that with AGW, and in particular, Greenland's massive ice melt, it is actually slowing down the movement. This i
    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward

      I'm generally critical of democrats as well, but they did do that whole push for solar and wind development that's currently driving the cost of renewables below fossil fuels.

      • by Anonymous Coward

        That's not driving the cost below fossils, dumbass, it's forcing people to pay more to buy renewables first

    • Most of the Dems don't really have a solution besides "consume less", which would be great if a) the vast majority of pollution was from consumers and not the companies they buy from

      Careful, now... this is vying with your long-lived (and never documented) canard about broadband costing ISPs $9/month for the dubious honor of being one of the dumbest things you've ever said. In the real world the rest of us live in, companies don't keep steadfastly churning out the same volume of products regardless of long-term demand.

    • by Anonymous Coward
      If people consumed less, the companies would produce less...
      It's not rocket surgery
    • spot on.
      GOP are causing this, but the GD Dems have NOTHING original amongst the lot of them.
      It is so easy to solve things like Cimate change, red tide, even our deficits, but both parties are composed of gutless wonders.
  • The restaurants now can buy local black sea bass instead of having it cooled and sent by truck for 700 miles which is good for the climate.

  • by Amigori ( 177092 ) <eefranklin718.yahoo@com> on Sunday December 23, 2018 @01:59PM (#57849946) Homepage

    Here in Alaska, there is always concern over the fish stocks. The commercial boats want to catch as much as possible for as cheaply as possible. The sport fishers and charter boats want to catch a reasonable amount (relatively small) and have fun doing it. And the subsistence fishers just want to pack their freezers so they can survive.

    From my sport fisher point-of-view, aside from the climate change bits, the problem is over-fishing by the commercial boats. Those trawlers just catch sooo many fish. 8y ago, our average halibut was 45-50 lbs, and keep 2 of any size. Now its

    The salmon aren't any different. The return numbers and escapements continue to get lower. And I can't tell you the last time the US met its TREATY goals with Canada. If the commercial boats catch all the salmon in the ocean, they can't return to spawn to make more fish.

    Many of these problems are man-made with straightforward solutions.

  • by Applehu Akbar ( 2968043 ) on Sunday December 23, 2018 @10:42PM (#57851774)

    Now that fishermen are netting fried cod and grilled halibut, the boats are being redesigned to keep the catch piping hot from net to dock.

  • Chances are good that Sardines will migrate north and restart the sardine cannery in CA. Sounds like it is minor, but at this time, the Sardines are around mexico and China basically raids the fisheries quite frequently

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