As two-thirds of marine species off the Northeast coast adjust their range due to rising ocean temperatures, fishermen are frustrated by outdated catch regulations, says The New York Times.
“Lobster, once a staple in southern New England, have decamped to Maine. Black sea bass, scup, yellowtail flounder, mackerel, herring and monkfish, to name just a few species, have all moved to accommodate changing temperatures,” says the Times.
Under current rules, North Carolina controls the majority of the black sea bass catch, as the fish used to be abundant off the state’s shores. But now NC fishermen must go 10 hours north to get anywhere near their quota numbers. Meanwhile, New England fisherman have to throw large portions of their black sea bass haul back into the water because they can’t legally harvest it.
Last summer, Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Christopher S. Murphy, and Rep. Joe Courtney, all Connecticut Democrats, urged the Inspector General of the U.S. Commerce Department to “investigate how the current system impacts the region’s fishermen and whether the structure should be reformed to bring quota allocations in line with current data on actual fish population distribution.” The politicians argued that “as species of fish move north, the allocation levels should migrate with them.”
But it isn’t easy adjusting catch numbers. Not only will some states oppose changes if they feel they are having resources taken away from them, but the fish themselves are notoriously hard to count, says the Times. The federal government monitors fish stocks, but whereas in the past overfishing was the main concern, now climate change is making it even harder to monitor marine populations.