BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 21, 2022
Officials in Alaska have canceled the Bering snow crab fishing season after a precipitous decline in its population. The closure could lead to half a billion dollars in economic losses. “Certainly there’s very clear signs of the role of climate change in the collapse,” said Michael Litzow, shellfish assessment program manager at NOAA. State officials also canceled the Bristol Bay red king crab season for the second year. There are lessons that Maine fisheries managers. One is the importance of good data. With a 2020 survey, the decline may have been spotted earlier, and different management measures could have been taken. The second, more important lesson, is that the impacts of climate change are widespread and occurring now. Preparing for and adapting to those changes now can help improve the sustainability of those fisheries, and the communities that rely upon them.