The crisis first began in early 2022, after biologists discovered an estimated 10 billion crabs disappeared — a 90% plunge in the population.
“The first reaction was, is this real? You know, we looked at it and it was almost a flat line,” said Ben Daly, a research coordinator with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
A recent survey of the species showed little sign of a rebound.
“Environmental conditions are changing rapidly,” Daly told CBS News last year when the snow crab season was canceled for the first time ever. “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.”
According to new research from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a marine heat wave linked to climate change impacted the snow crabs’ food supply and drove them to starvation.
Biologists hope this second round of suspensions will give the remaining snow crab population time to bulk back up.
But with the climate threat only growing, there’s concern the snow crabs, along with the industry that depends on them, will continue to shrink.
“I’m a fourth-generation fisherman,” Songstad said. “I would like to say that this is gonna be here for my kids, but the reality is we’re a dying breed and if we keep going the way we’re going, there’s not going to be any of us left.”
For one Michigan legislator, evidence of a conspiracy.
Asterisk: Matt Maddock is a Michigan legislator and husband of Meshawn Maddock, former Chair of the Michigan Republican Party under indictment as a “fake elector” in an elaborate scheme to (allegedly) defraud voters.
Also affecting the Trout and other cold water species in the Adirondack lakes………
“After a few more decades of browning, most Adirondack lakes will become either too warm or too deoxygenated to support trout populations.”
https://www.technologynetworks.com/applied-sciences/news/lake-browning-is-killing-more-north-american-trout-due-to-climate-change-382490
no editors? KING crab – as at least correctly IDd by the dumbass Maddock. Writer has wrong crab. Snow crab is TOTALLY different than King.
“Between 2018 and 2021, the snow crab population off the coast of Alaska declined dramatically: Some 10 billion of the cold water-loving crustaceans disappeared, which represents around 90 percent of the region’s population. ”
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-10-billion-snow-crabs-disappeared-off-the-coast-of-alaska-180983112/
Seems in Alaska that the snow crabs are in deep trouble, the red King Crabs are struggling,but available this season. Note leftists or republicans NOT involved only nature and science. For gods sake keep it real and not muddled by stupid misleading politics.
“Alaska fishermen will be able to harvest red king crab for the first time in two years, offering a slight reprieve to the beleaguered fishery beset by low numbers likely exacerbated by climate change.”
https://apnews.com/article/alaska-bering-sea-king-crab-fishing-0914d7ed2155830ca1a6e42524dcc145