Tag Archives: Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle
Dungeness crab: Central California numbers rise to average of five times that of past decades
Fishermen from California to Washington caught almost all the available legal-size male Dungeness crab each year in the last few decades. However, the crab population has either remained stable or continued to increase, according to the first thorough population estimate of the West Coast Dungeness stocks. “The catches and abundance in Central California especially are increasing, which is pretty remarkable to see year after year,” The secret to the success of the Dungeness crab fishery may be the way fishing regulations protect the crab populations’ reproductive potential. >click to read< 14:34
Pacific Ocean warms up along Oregon Coast, drawing unusual visitors
“As far as climate scientists know, it could be a weird aberration or it could very well be something that could stick around for a while,” he said. Or as Northwest Fisheries Science Center Director John Stien put it, “We’re seeing some major environmental shifts taking place that could affect the ecosystem for years to come.” Nate Mantua, another NOAA scientist, said the conditions are so unusual that he believes they won’t be long-lasting. Read the rest here 07:37
