In a major blow to America's seafood industry, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has, for the first time in state history, canceled the winter snow crab season in the Bering Sea due to their falling numbers. While restaurant menus will suffer, scientists worry what the sudden population plunge means for the health of the Arctic ecosystem.
An estimated one billion crabs have mysteriously disappeared in two years, state officials said. It marks a 90% drop in their population.
Freshly caught snow crabs sit in containers on a fishing boat at Mikuni Fishing Port in Mikuni, Fukui Prefecture, Japan, on Friday, Nov. 6, 2015. Buddhika Weerasinghe/Bloomberg via Getty Images
"Did they run up north to get that colder water?" asked Gabriel Prout, whose Kodiak Island fishing business relies heavily on the snow crab population. "Did they completely cross the border? Did they walk off the continental shelf on the edge there, over the Bering Sea?"
Ben Daly, a researcher with ADF&G, is investigating where the crabs have gone. He monitors the health of the state's fisheries, which produce 60% of the nation's seafood.
"Disease is one possibility," Daly told CBS News.
He also points to climate change. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Alaska is the fastest warming state in the country, and is losing billions of tons of ice each year — critical for crabs that need cold water to survive.
"Environmental conditions are changing rapidly," Daly said. "We've seen warm conditions in the Bering Sea the last couple of years, and we're seeing a response in a cold adapted species, so it's pretty obvious this is connected. It is a canary in a coal mine for other species that need cold water."
Prout said that there needs to be a relief program for fisherman, similar to programs for farmers who experience crop failure, or communities affected by hurricanes or flooding.
When asked what fishermen can do in this situation, with their livelihoods dependent on the ocean, Prout responded, "Hope and pray. I guess that's the best way to say it."
thebeginingisnear on October 14th, 2022 at 14:24 UTC »
Somewhat related...
I remember a somewhat recent documentary about Tuna overfishing and the effect it would have on the ocean ecosystem. Basically since tuna are an apex predator, by dwindling their numbers down you create an environment where the the tier of fish below them thrive briefly from the lack of predation before they gobble up all the food (fish in tier 3) and there is a massive die off due to lack of food/disease... the end results is you have this proliferation of the bottom tier of the seafood chain: things like clams and mussels cause you don't have enough fish above them on the food chain to keep their numbers in check.
Point is aside from the devastation to the crab market for human consumption, this is a massive disruption to the ocean ecosystem with it's own set of consequences that are to be determined.
Just one of many future ecological resets we are going to witness in our lifetime
HimekoTachibana on October 14th, 2022 at 13:38 UTC »
To put it into perspective for people that didn't read the article:
CRAB POPULATIONS DECLINED 90% IN 2 YEARS.
That is massive.
Edit:
"Scientists are still evaluating what happened. A leading theory is that water temperatures spiked at a time when huge numbers of young crabs were clustered together. "
"Scientists are still evaluating the cause or causes of the snow crab collapse, but it follows a stretch of record-breaking warmth in Bering Sea waters that spiked in 2019. Miranda Westphal, an area management biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said the warmer waters likely contributed to young crabs’ starvation and the stock’s decline. "
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/alaska-cancels-snow-crab-season-threatening-key-economic-driver-rcna51910
Atomsteel on October 14th, 2022 at 13:06 UTC »
Canary in the coal mine.
Keep digging boys!