Tag Archives: rising ocean temperatures

Invasive blob-like creatures are clogging Maine fishing gear – “They’re a pain in the ass.”

The small invertebrates, several species of which are invasive, are attaching themselves in large numbers to lobster traps and aquaculture equipment, at times creating a major hassle for harvesters as they try to tend to their gear. “The month of September, they come on like gangbusters,” Hilton Turner, a lobsterman and chair of Stonington’s harbor committee, said about the tunicates, which are better known as sea squirts. “Every year gets a little worse,” he said. Lobstermen use different techniques to try to remove the squirts. Some set the traps in boiling hot water tanks on their boats, some try immersing them in salt-saturated water, and still others blast them with a power washer, which can be time-consuming, Turner said. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:25

Researchers: Global Warming Could Wipe Out Maine Lobsters in 85 Years!

6359396647_57f0daebfd_zThe Gulf of Maine is warming at an alarming rate. Research by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows ocean temperatures are rising at three times the rate of global averages. This increase in temperatures is linked to the collapse of the New England cod population, and new research shows the fate of the Maine lobster is likely similar. A new report from the University of Maine Darling Marine Center and the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences predicts the Maine lobster population will be wiped out by 2100 due to climate change. The study examined how lobster larvae are impacted by rising ocean temperatures and ocean acidification. Although acidification seems to have no significant impact on the larvae, warming temperatures are a different story. Lobsters reared in water that is 3 degrees Celsius warmer than current temperatures in the western Gulf of Maine had bleak survival rates. Read the rest here 11:51

Labrador shrimp fishery seeing boon from rising ocean temperatures

hi-shrimp-852A journalist who covers the seafood industry says global warming may be wreaking havoc on the world’s fish stocks as a whole, but could be related to bigger shrimp catches recently off the coast of Labrador. John Sackton is the publisher of SeafoodNews.com, a website that claims to be the most widely-read daily seafood publication in North America. He told CBC Radio’s Labrador Morning that this past year has been a boon for Labrador’s shrimp fishery. Read the article here 08:11

Climate Change Will Upset Vital Ocean Chemical Cycles, Research Shows

New research from the University of East Anglia shows that rising ocean temperatures will upset natural cycles of carbon dioxide, nitrogen and phosphorus. Plankton plays an important role in the ocean’s carbon cycle by removing half of all CO2 from the atmosphere during photosynthesis and storing it deep under the sea — isolated from the atmosphere for centuries. more@sciencedaily 09:34