How do fish feel about warming water?
I can only imagine how the
fish must feel. The water is warming and
acidification is taking its toll. They
all feel the difference, but how they react to it is key.
Some species have the
ability to move away from the effects of warming water and others don’t. And then again, some species like the warm
water and it produces greater abundance (like black sea bass), yet others do
not like warm water and leave the area if they can (cod), those that cannot
leave the area become less abundant and could eventually disappear from the
area (sea scallops and quahogs).
A study released by the
National Oceanographic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) last month
titled the “Northeast Climate Vulnerability Assessment” now sheds some light on
how 82 species in northeast waters (many fished by recreational and commercial
fishermen) are impacted by climate change.
Fortunately for us Dr. Jonathan
Hare, one of the world’s most respected scientists studying climate change and
its impact on fish, lives right here in Rhode Island. Dr. Hare, fisheries oceanographer at NOAA
Fisheries’ Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), is director of NOAA’s Narragansett
Lab and is the lead author of the study.
“Our method identifies specific attributes
that influence marine fish and invertebrate resilience to the effects of a
warming ocean and characterizes risks posed to individual species. The study
will help us better account for the effects of warming waters on our fishery
species in stock assessments and when developing fishery management measures.” said
Dr. Hare.
The study method for assessing
vulnerability categorizes species that are “generalists” as less vulnerable to
climate change than are those that are “specialists.” For example, Atlantic cod
and yellowtail flounder are more generalists, since they can use a variety of
prey and habitat, and are ranked as only moderately vulnerable to climate
change. The Atlantic sea scallop is more of a specialist, with limited mobility
and high sensitivity to the ocean acidification that will be more pronounced as
water temperatures warm. Sea scallops have a high vulnerability ranking.
The study also goes a long way to
further explain what is happening in our area with warm water fish being more
abundance and cold water fish less abundant in our area.
The study’s summary of results
helps put the species rankings into contest.
The specie summaries, that discuss what is known about the effects of
climate change on the species, will be covered in future articles, particularly
those species commonly fished by recreational and commercial fishermen in our
area.
The study appears in its entirety
on PLOS One, an online scholarly science journal at http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0146756.
Saltwater Fishing Show Big Success
The
New England Saltwater Fishing Show held this weekend at the Rhode Island
Convention Center was a huge success.
Steve Medeiros, show producer and president of the sponsoring RI
Saltwater Anglers Association said, “Attendance was the best it has been in
thirteen years. Preliminary numbers indicate that Friday, Saturday and Sunday
all were attendance breaking days. Initial
estimates have put attendance at over 15,000 people and the best part for our
exhibitors… a lot of product… fishing rods, reels and tackle were sold.”
Capt.
Tom Pelletier of Quaker Lane Outfitters, North Kingstown said, “It was so
crowed this weekend that many times you could not see across the aisle.” Greg Vespe of Flippin Out Charters and fluke
fishing rigs said, “People were buying fluke rigs in large numbers and asking a
lot of questions on fishing tactics which is great. It was wonderful to see so many people coming
to the show this year.”
One
of the shows headliners was Capt. Dave Carraro who gave a presentation with his
mate on a behind the scenes look at the National Geographic Network program Wicked Tuna. Capt. Dave Carraro said, “We attend a lot of
shows all over the country and this is by far the best show we attend. It was wall to wall people this weekend. In fact I had to leave the booth just to get
a little “me” time because it was so crowed.”
Hats
off to Steve Medeiros and the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association for a
successful and very special fishing show.
How to land spring striped bass
“Fishing for Spring Striped Bass” was the topic at Monday
night’s panel discussion at the West Valley Inn, West Warwick. Striped bass
experts Capt. Randy Bagwell of River Rebel Charters, Capt. Eric Thomas of
Teezer 77 Guide Service and local striper surfcasting expert Dennis Zambrotta
conducted the panel discussion on how to land striped bass form shore and boat
at the Rhode Island Saltwater Angler Association meeting.
Four seminar take-a-ways:
First, you have to make it happen. Be prepared to do a number of different
things to catch spring striped bass as every day is different. What works one day may not work the next
day. Be prepared to live line menhaden,
fish with chucked menhaden, soft plastics, troll with umbrella rigs, etc. What
appeals to the fish today may be far from what they want tomorrow.
Second, most spring bass are in skinny water… two to five feet
close to shore when casting lures and up to 25 feet when fishing with live
bait, fresh chunked bait or when trolling.
Third, fish early morning or at night. Night brings darkness and poor visibility so
bass feed aggressively as they believe they are safe from predators. Dawn provides still water so you can actually
see the bait and fish movement on the surface.
And fourth, fish where there is a lot of water movement. Ledges as well as channel edges or channel
pads where fish may be staging to ambush bait.
Fish choke points where the land narrows and water rushes through
pushing and tossing bait around. Like the channel pads of the shipping channel
from Sandy Point Prudence Island to downtown Providence.
Where’s the bite
Not
much fishing has occurred as bad weather continued to keep boats in port. When they got out the fishing was only
fair. Party boats sailing for cod fish
at this time include the Frances Fleet at www.francesfleet.com
, the Seven B’s at www.sevenbs.com, and
the Island Current at www.islandcurrent.com.
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