How anyone can dispute the science of climate change baffles me. It’s fodder for stand-up comics (Can we trust temperatures taken 150 years ago?? Back then they were using leeches to cure disease!) and hard right-wingers who believe that if it wasn’t in the Bible, it doesn’t exist. Oh, unless it’s something convenient like a microwave or Tinder app.Â
Maybe this will change a mind or two. Maine scientists now say that if the ocean’s temperature keeps rising at the current rate it will hit us right beneath our melted butter: no more lobsters.
The southernmost part of the New England lobster fishing business is collapsing, according to the study. The researchers say baby lobsters might not be able to survive the hotter waters in years to come. They’re already strugging to grow up to be delicious. 3,000 baby lobsters were raised in warmer water and they tended to develop faster which helped them avoid predators but few made it to adulthood. The ocean region is five degrees warmer than what’s considered normal and expected to rise another five degrees by the year 2100.
Lobsters were bountiful on our summer trip to Maine. The scientists say more northern areas of New England are experiencing banner years as the crustacean population moves to cooler climes. Asia has become a growing lobster-hungry market, and lobster exports are in high demand. This will all be for naught if the little lobsters can’t survive the warming water. The thought of it is enough to make me crabby. Hey…crabs.