Collins, King push for more research into warming of Gulf of Maine
Collins photo Courtesy / MEDILL DC, FLICKR; King photo Courtesy / U.S. Naval War College, FLICKR
U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Angus King, I-Maine, have written a letter to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration urging the agency to prioritize the Gulf of Maine as an area of study in light of record-breaking water temperatures.
Citing measurements indicating record-breaking temperatures for water entering the Gulf of Maine, U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Angus King, I-Maine, have sent a letter to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration urging the agency to prioritize the gulf as an area of study.
“The Gulf of Maine is currently warming faster than almost any other body of water on Earth,” Collins and King wrote Monday in their letter to Tim Gallaudet, assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere, NOAA. “Recent research has shown that waters of record high temperature are entering the Gulf, and these changes pose long-term threats to the balance of conditions that have fostered such a historically healthy, productive ocean ecosystem. To help better understand, prepare for, and adapt to these changes, we respectfully request that NOAA take a leadership role in prioritizing the Gulf of Maine as an area of study.”
Why this matters
A drastic warming of the Gulf of Maine and other waters off the coast of Maine could threaten the state’s vital marine resources, including Maine’s lobster fishery, which reported landings in 2017 being sixth highest on record at 110.8 million pounds, with an overall value of $433.8 million.
That tally represents a 16% decline from 2016's 132.5 million landings.
Earlier this year, a new study, led by scientists at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute and colleagues at the University of Maine and the NOAA, warned that although warming ocean temperatures have caused the Gulf of Maine lobster population to boom by an estimated 515% over the 30-year period from 1984-2014, the continuing warming trend could put that population at a tipping point, resulting in population declines.
“The new warm waters flowing into the Gulf of Maine are starkly different from the cold and nutrient-rich currents that have supported this unique marine ecosystem for so long,” the senators wrote. “Researchers have speculated that this influx is likely due to broader climate changes that are increasing the flow of melt-water from the Arctic and reducing the intensity of the Gulf Stream. Regardless of the source, its implications are clear and dire for the health of the marine species that inhabit the Gulf and for the future of fisheries that depend on them.”
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