Tag Archives: Water temperatures
Waters off Scotian Shelf are cooling while scientists wonder if decade-long warming trend is over
In recent years, warming temperatures have grabbed headlines, with record highs being set throughout the region. Recently, on the Scotian shelf, it has moved in the other direction. “It is really interesting,” Beazley said in a wharfside interview at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography. “We did see a continuation of the trend that we observed in 2023, which was the temperatures are actually returning to normal or even below normal conditions in some areas. It’s getting cooler.” Since 2012, ocean temperatures off Nova Scotia at depth have been consistently warmer — by about two degrees above normal. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:29
Staggered lobster starts don’t suit all fishers
For the second straight year, PEI’s north and south side lobster zones had their setting days on different dates, but not everyone agrees with it. David Sansom, port manager at Red Head Harbour in Morell, said he isn’t a fan of not starting on the same day. However, he said data shows the offshore area Morell fishes, between Naufrage and Covehead harbours, has been one of the coldest on the Island in recent years, which affects lobster movement. Starting dates are influenced by many factors, including temperature on the bottom, weather and the tides. The north side had April 29 as their tentative starting date but several days of strong north winds delayed their season by almost a week until this past Sunday. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:10
P.E.I. South Shore lobster season starting early to avoid fishing into July
There will be two opening days in P.E.I.’s spring lobster season in 2023, with setting day for harbours on the Island’s South Shore on Wednesday, April 26, four days earlier than the traditional setting day of April 30. “The early opening is in an effort to keep the season from extending into July,” said Mike Dixon, who chairs the lobster advisory committee for 26A. “We have fished into July in the past, and we know that’s the time of year that the lobsters are into their reproductive stage and also their moult stage, so it’s to make sure that the season’s over June 30 or earlier.” >click to read< 09:12
They’re big, they’re fat and thankfully there are finally a whole lot of ‘em!
It’s early, but the Fraser River sockeye salmon run is looking strong for fishermen in U.S. waters. The season started earlier this week for commercial fishermen, with salmon coming in large numbers through the Strait of Juan de Fuca and heading toward Canadian waters. There are a lot of the fish, and they are fat, said Riley Starks, of Lummi Island Wild. The company does reefnet fishing near Lummi Island. On Monday the crew had its best one-day catch ever, he said. >click to read<09:00
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
Feeling the Heat in the NW Atlantic
Rising temperatures along the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean will force American lobsters (H. americanus) farther offshore and into more northern waters, according to a new study led by researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). Climate models project that bottom temperatures in the Atlantic along the U.S. East Coast may rise by up to 4.3 °C (7.7 °F) by the end of the century. “That’s a significant change, and lobsters are particularly sensitive to warming water temperatures,” says WHOI researcher Jennie Rheuban,, >click here to read< 15:30
End of season Georgia shrimp – “It’s just part of being a fisherman. Sometimes they’re there, sometimes they’re not.”
Capt. Joseph Fawcett says the past few days he’s spent shrimp fishing aboard the Little Lloyd with his family have been cold, but he doesn’t blame the weather for the less than stellar trip. “Those shrimp can leave a spot overnight sometimes,” he said. Read the rest here 09:07
