Author: Anthony Watts and H. Sterling Burnett
An article from August 25 new york times (new), titled “Maine's lobster fishermen tell us about the election“ Claiming that “…Maine’s lobster fishing communities may well be America’s own canary in the coal mine when it comes to climate change,” implies that damage to Maine’s lobster fishing industry is an early indicator of the dangers of climate change. This is wrong. Several data show that Maine's lobster industry is doing well. Amid mild warming over the past century, record lobster catches have been set over the past decade despite a significant decline in the number of licensed lobster fishermen.
climate realism The fate of the lobster fishery in the face of climate change was previously discussed in an October 2020 article climate realism story.
“The Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) reports that the 10 highest annual lobster catches have all occurred in the past 10 years,” the 2020 report states climate realism postal. “The lobster catch in Maine is twice what it was 20 years ago.”
With another two years of data available, this remains the case, with catches in recent years still being the highest ever recorded.
In fact, DMR data show that within the context of historically normal year-to-year changes in total catches, Maine's lobster catches have increased by approximately 288% since 1990 during the mild warming of the past 34 years, despite gains in The number of licensed lobster fishermen has dropped by nearly 13%, largely due to tighter regulations that increase costs for operators. (see table below)
The New York Times said in the article, “Ms. Gunther believes that the number of full-time lobster fishermen in Maine could decline by as much as one-half over the next decade, in part because of climate change.” If so, that could be Because federal regulations restrict lobster operations, ostensibly to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales, even as the government promotes massive offshore wind complexes in lobster and whale habitats. Climate rules, not moderately warmer waters, are the biggest threat to the lobster industry.
An article discussing the current situation of the industry on masonslobster.com in 2023 also directly refuted the analysis of the New York Times:
Last year, Maine fishermen caught 124 million pounds of lobster, six times the catch in 1984. Today, about 85 percent of American lobsters caught in the United States are landed in Maine—more than ever before.
What's more striking than the sheer volume, however, is that there's no clear explanation for this sudden six-fold increase. Rising sea temperatures, which accelerate lobster growth and open up new coastal habitats for crayfish, may be one reason.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has this to say about the status of Maine’s lobster fishery:
Maine's economy has benefited from the transfer of lobsters. In 2014, the New England lobster industry was worth $564 million. Maine alone reported $459.6 million — 81 percent of the total. The arrival of the lobsters may seem like a boon to the Mainers, but the factor driving their northward migration hasn't gone away: Warming ocean temperatures.
Apparently, climate change advocates generally agree that rising ocean temperatures are actually increasing Maine lobster catches, rather than causing a major decline in lobster catches. (see picture below)
Maine lobster catch surges in 2021:
NewsCenter Maine recently cited preliminary 2023 DMR data showing lobster production dropped to 93,734,116 pounds in 2023, but that number is consistent with historical year-to-year production changes. Although there are fewer licensed lobster fishermen, the numbers are still higher than every year before 2010.
Despite the decline in catches, the value of the lobster catch increased by $72 million from 2022 to 2023, reaching $461,371,720. This is due to a significant increase in the price paid to fishermen, from $3.97 per pound in 2022 to $4.95 per pound in 2023.
In fact, the New York Times reports that invasive species, rather than climate change, may be the cause of recent declines:
First, ascidians are suddenly everywhere. They are translucent, water-filled creatures called tunicates, about the size of golf balls, that can spread rapidly across the seafloor, contaminating oyster beds and sucking oxygen from the seawater. “When they die,” Mr. Black said, “the bottom is dead.” Sea squirts were likely imported from the bilge waters of foreign ships, and now they can thrive in the Gulf of Maine, where the waters are warming.
The sea squirts were brought to Bilgewater by a ship and have nothing to do with climate change.
In addition, because the effects of climate change are long-lasting, lasting 30 years or more, the New York Times' claim that climate change is related to reduced fish catches in any given year is just a guess without any evidence to support it. It may be that this New York Times article appeared in Opinion section Newspaper.
Contrary to a New York Times campaign promoting climate crisis regulations that argued nearly all bad things are caused by climate change, data shows Maine’s lobster fishery is doing well. It is profitable and the catch remains plentiful. The New York Times story is shoddy journalism at best.
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