Black sea bass surge off R.I.
Scientists tell us that some fish will be winners and others losers as oceans warm. In Rhode Island, count lobster, silver hake and winter flounder among the losers, their numbers plummeting as climate change drives water temperatures higher. On the list of winners so far are squid, summer flounder, butterfish. And black sea bass. The population of the dusky-colored fish with striking blue accents has historically been strongest off the mid-Atlantic Coast, but over the past decade or so its numbers have spiked off New England and it is becoming a more important catch for the region’s fishermen. How they are managed will have important implications not only for those fish but for lobsters and other key species in the ocean ecosystem. >click to read<12:30
Yes indeed, “a surge” and that’s why the RI DEM just shut down the Sea Bass fishery until mid-September! When fishermen can again land their paltry 50 Lbs. per day!
From a DEM email notice on July 13th:
Modification to possession limits and/or seasons for marine species
regulated under quota:
1. Beginning 12:00AM on Thursday, July 19, 2018, the commercial
fishery for Black Sea Bass will CLOSE, until re-opening on September
15, 2018 at 50 pounds per vessel per calendar day.