Posted in | Science
Jumping The Gun: Fisheries Research & The Null Hypothesis
Scientific analysis is often under close scrutiny in fisheries management. Among many in New England, there is a general lack of trust in the science that supports fishery management decisions, one, because it may seem to contradict what fishermen are seeing on the water, or two, it leads to an unfavorable result for the industry. Everyone at one point has been guilty of drawing conclusions to promote their interests, but it’s important to remember that there is a formula to science and we rely on it as an objective source of information. We should not be so quick to jump to conclusions. And especially when there is a lack of science, a precautionary approach to fisheries management is in the interest of all. … More Info
Is the Acadian Redfish Helping Puffins Adapt to Climate Change?
As Atlantic herring follow cooler waters north, rebounding redfish populations have become a vital source of food for some puffin colonies … More Info
Marine Scientist Follows Hot Fish as They Move to Cooler Waters
Warming oceans have fish on the move, and one man is in hot pursuit. That man, Rutgers University marine biologist Malin Pinsky, has tracked fish species all over North American waters to learn where they’re headed in search of cooler conditions. … More Info
New Research Shows a Bad Forecast for Cod in a Rapidly Changing Climate
This summer, two scientific articles examined the outlook for Atlantic cod populations in a rapidly changing climate, and unfortunately for an already struggling species in New England, the forecast is not so great. … More Info
What happens when you fish too long and too hard in one spot?
Science clearly supports a need for better ecosystem-based management. Localized depletion of forage fishes has real, adverse impacts on the forage species itself, on the rest of the ocean ecosystem, and on coastal communities. … More Info
Innies-And-Outies: New Science Reveals Closed Area Effectiveness for Atlantic Cod
With NOAA poised to review the New England Fishery Management Council’s Omnibus Habitat Amendment – and in the face of some fishermen who claim that marine protected areas within the cold waters off New England show no benefit, and others that claim the new sector quota system eliminates the need for closed areas all together – a timely paper was recently released by two New England-based marine scientists. … More Info
Winter Home of Maine Puffins Revealed
Until this summer, the winter home of Maine puffins was largely unknown, but that has suddenly changed with revelations discovered this year. … More Info
NOAA Study: Climate Change Threatens Important Marine Fish and Invertebrate Species
Yesterday, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration released a major climate study that evaluated 82 Northeast marine fish and invertebrate species’ overall vulnerability to climate change as well as the potential for population distribution change. The researchers found that half of the species are “highly” or “very highly” vulnerable to the effects of climate change. This is the first multispecies assessment of its kind. … More Info
NOAA Projects Rapid Warming for New England Waters
Using output from four global climate models, NOAA researchers found that “ocean temperature in the U.S. Northeast shelf is projected to warm twice as fast as previously projected and almost three times faster than the global average.” … More Info
Science Links Ocean Warming to Gulf of Maine Cod Fishery Collapse
The Gulf of Maine has been hit with a double whammy – declining Atlantic cod stocks and ocean warming – and a new study published Thursday in Science definitively links the two. The paper is already receiving headlines and has major implications for how we manage our fisheries. … More Info
