[♫]
[sound of rushing water]
[a ship's bell rings]
[♫]
Narrator: Fisheries contribute more than $240 billion
in economic activity in the United States every year.
They support 1.7 million jobs and robust coastal economies,
while providing 9.3 billion pounds of seafood for consumers.
But these fisheries are at risk due to climate change.
Fishermen were some of the first
to observe changes in the ocean.
Rising temperatures have shifted weather patterns,
ocean currents, and even where fish live.
Vince Saba: The American Lobster fishery
is among the most valuable fisheries in the U.S.
The fishery is an essential component of coastal communities.
Historically the American Lobster fishery occurred
from Maine down through Long Island.
Today however, most of the fishery occurs
in Maine and Massachusetts.
Since 1999 the lobster fishery
in southern New England waters
has essentially collapsed primarily due to ocean warming.
Over the last 15 years waters off the U.S. northeast
have warmed faster than any other region.
We’ve seen dramatic changes
in the distribution of many fish species
and we’re predicting that
the American Lobster habitat
will continue to move further offshore.
Narrator: Rising sea temperatures
are also affecting fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska—
and even closing once-abundant fisheries.
Steve Barbeaux: In 2014 we had temperatures
that we hadn’t seen before.
This was the start of a heat wave that lasted for two years.
These warm conditions were really not great for Pacific Cod.
We had these cold blooded animals
that were ramped up throughout the entire winter.
Their metabolisms are actually higher
the warmer it gets,
so they need more food to stay at the same level.
You really saw smaller cod, skinnier cod.
The cod weren’t finding food.
We had this vise occurring in the system
where both the young fish and the older fish
were disappearing quite rapidly.
This impact from the heat wave continued on
even to today where we have lower abundance
in the Gulf of Alaska.
In fact, in 2020 we had to shut down the federal fishery.
Narrator: These closures don’t just mean
less food for people to eat.
They also affect the communities
that rely on these fish for their livelihoods,
including subsistence communities.
And there’s more to climate change than rising temperatures.
California is experiencing more frequent and serious droughts.
Rachel Johnson: Winter-run Chinook salmon
really rely on cold water.
Their eggs are very temperature sensitive.
And with the building of Shasta Dam
all of that accessible cold water habitat
has been removed and those eggs are laid
in habitat that is often too warm for them
The amount of water that’s available to them
really varies in a given year.
If there are drought conditions in California
there’s always concern that that cold water is going to run out.
And that limited cold water makes winter run
very vulnerable to drought and will become
an even increasingly impactful stressor to them.
Narrator: NOAA Fisheries is at the forefront
of fisheries climate science.
We know that there is much at risk.
We are focused on understanding the effects
of climate change on fish stocks.
Steve Barbeaux: We’re trying to develop plans
that'll allow us to have a sustainable fishery
over the long term.
Do we base management
on what we know happened in the past
or do we do management based on
what we think is going to happen?
That becomes more and more difficult
when we have less certainty about our future.
Narrator: We’re adapting our surveys,
studying past events,
developing and refining models,
to help us better forecast future conditions
and identify how to reduce those effects.
This will help fishery managers prepare
and adopt new management approaches
so we can maintain sustainable fish populations.
We’re helping fish populations to rebound,
restoring the habitat they need to thrive,
and raising salmon in hatcheries
that can be reintroduced into nearby rivers.
We’re also helping the fishing industry
look at other options as they adapt,
such as aquaculture.
NOAA Fisheries plays a major role
in advancing aquaculture technology.
Responsible aquaculture can produce safe,
sustainable seafood that is less vulnerable
to changing ocean conditions.
While the climate may be changing,
our goal is always the same:
to support sustainable commercial and recreational fisheries,
for today and for generations to come.
[♫]