Whether you agree that climate change is affected by human activity or think it’s just a “liberal” issue, recent findings about the rising temperature of the Gulf of Maine should make each and every Mainer take note.
According to the research of Andy Pershing, chief scientific officer at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, the Gulf of Maine is heating up faster than 99 percent of the world’s oceans. From 1982 until 2004, Gulf temperatures were increasing by about 0.05 degrees per year, which is approximately the rate at which all of the worlds oceans have been warming. Pershing found, however, that since 2004, the pace has dramatically accelerated to about a half-degree per year ”“ nearly 10 times faster than it was before, according to a recent Associated Press article.
Pershing’s work has been accepted by scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, according to the AP.
The reason this should be of concern to every single Maine resident ”“ and those who enjoy spending summers and vacations here ”“ is that the change is causing ocean life to move north, to colder waters. Cod, herring and northern shrimp are heading northward, to colder waters, while black sea bass, blue crabs and new species of squid ”“ which weren’t previously found this far north ”“ are now being caught off the coast of Maine, the AP reported.
This should be a major concern for fishermen, lawmakers and residents alike, since the fishing industry in the region ”“ encompassing Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts ”“ was valued at more than $1 billion in 2012, when fishermen caught more than 550 million pounds of fish and shellfish, according to NOAA statistics.
Although the change has caused an overabundance of lobsters in recent years, heating up too much too fast will certainly have an impact on Maine lobster, and could either cause the species to head farther north, or to die off. That would be a serious blow to the fishing, hospitality and tourism industries, and to the marine ecosystem as well.
One example of the negative environmental effects already seen is puffin chicks starving to death because of a lack of herring and hake in the waters where they live, which they need to grow and fledge, Nick Record, a research scientist at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, told the AP.
Rising ocean temperatures ”“ no matter the source ”“ are everyone’s problem, and this issue needs a solution and fast. The only way to do that, as far as we can tell today, is to reduce carbon emissions and greenhouse gases that are causing temperatures worldwide to rise. That is why the state, and the country, needs to stick to its plan to pursue more renewable energy sources ”“ like wind and solar power ”“ and cut its use of oil and gasoline.
If we aren’t proactive, Maine’s major fisheries could disappear before our very eyes, and once those species are gone and the damage is done, it will be nearly impossible to undo.
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Today’s editorial was written by City Editor Robyn Burnham Rousseau on behalf of the Journal Tribune Editorial Board. Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski by calling 282-1535, ext. 322, or via email at kristenm@journaltribune.com.
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