Climate change, not overfishing, is devastating shellfish environments

[Julian Englis]

Source: NBC News

Valuable species of shellfish have become harder to find on the East Coast because of degraded habitats caused by a warming environment, according to a pair of scientists that sought to find out whether environmental factors or overfishing was the source of the decline.

The scientists reached the conclusion in studying the decline in the harvest of four commercially important species of shellfish in coastal areas from Maine to North Carolina — eastern oysters, northern quahogs, softshell clams and northern bay scallops. They reported that their findings came down squarely on the side of a warming ocean environment and a changing climate, and not excessive harvest by fishermen.

One of the ways warming has negatively impacted shellfish is by making them more susceptible to predators, said the lead author of the study, Clyde MacKenzie, a shellfish researcher for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who is based in Sandy Hook, New Jersey.

"Their predation rate is faster in the warmer waters. They begin to prey earlier, and they prey longer into the fall," MacKenzie said. "These stocks have gone down."

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/climate-change-not-overfishing-devastating-shellfish-environments-n934976

[DFW]

1. The waters off Cape Cod have warmed a LOT in the pasrt two years

Bad for such legends as Wellfleet oysters, Bay scallops and, of course, lobsters. We haven't seen starfish in over ten years, and horseshoe crabs (which aren't crabs) are now very rare.

Bad for us humans who love the beach, too, as there have been serious great white shark attacks on humans this past year, including the first fatality (Wellfleet) in 80 years. Especially disconcerting is the not-quite-fatal shark attack at Long Nook Beach in Truro, where my wife and I go every day that it isn't stormy, which was EVERY day out of 26 this past summer. The number of seals swimming close to shore has increased dramatically. While they're cute and all, they are also the favorite food of Great White Sharks, who aren't always picky about what is really a seal and what is not.

[Sunlei]

2. all the shellfish/lobsters move to canadas coastlines. USA has to learn to eat dirty water species

jumping carp & talipa will thrive in any old dirty warm ditch water.

Or import shellfish from Canadas new growing shellfish industry.