Lobster population is shifting north; ocean warming blamed

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/lobster-population-is-shifting-north-ocean-warming-blamed/2015/08/18/a141b9ec-45bd-11e5-9f53-d1e3ddfd0cda_story.html

Patrick Whittle | AP August 18, 2015

The lobster population has crashed to the lowest levels on record in southern New England while climbing to heights never before seen in the cold waters off Maine and other northern reaches — a geographic shift that scientists attribute in large part to the warming of the ocean.

The trend is driving lobstermen in Connecticut and Rhode Island out of business, ending a centuries-old way of life.

Restaurant diners, supermarket shoppers and summer vacationers aren’t seeing much difference in price or availability, since the overall supply of lobsters is pretty much steady.

But because of the importance of lobsters to New England’s economy, history and identity, the northward shift stands as a particularly sad example of how climate change may be altering the natural range of many animals and plants.

•••••