Rising temps, acid levels worry fishing industry
Researchers are seeing rising ocean temperatures and acid levels that could weaken some fish species and speed up the spread of infectious diseases like the shell disorder plaguing the Connecticut lobster fishery.
The Portland Press Herald reported that scientists have found acid levels rising up to three times faster in coastal areas than in the open ocean, a result of the ocean absorbing increasing amounts of carbon dioxide, which the paper reported can reduce the amount of materials that mollusks and crustaceans use to form their shells.
The rising temperatures have also altered the ranges of certain species, like green crabs, which typically prey on scallops, urchins, mussels and clams.
Carl Wilson, a marine resource scientist with the state's Department of Marine Resources, told the paper that the predators could eventually move on to lobsters.
Scientists also say warmer waters are leading to decreasing groundfish stocks. Earlier this season, officials recommended cod catch cuts of 77% from last year's limit in response to stock estimates.
The paper reported that warmer waters also make lobsters more prone to shell disease that first appeared in the 1980s and has caused an estimated $16 million annual loss for Connecticut's lobster industry.
Lobster, Maine's top fishery, generated revenues of nearly $331 million in 2012, according to state officials.
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