MONTI: How habitat (and fish) are responding to climate impacts | Local Sports

The study assessed the vulnerability of 82 invertebrates and finfish. Invertebrates (shellfish) that cannot move out of an area that is experiencing negative climate impacts (like warming water) are losers and will die. Cold water fish such as winter flounder and America lobster make us losers too as they leave our area for colder deeper water. There are warm water fish that make us winners too, such as black sea bass and scup that are here in greater abundance than ever before.

In their December study, NOAA and research partners, assessed the vulnerability of 53 marine, estuarine, and riverine habitats in the Northeast United States to climate change much the same way they assessed specie vulnerability in the 2016 study. The new habitat assessment helps us draw correlations, explaining how climate is impacting the areas where the fish we love to catch, eat and or release live, eat and often spawn. From an angler’s perspective, these changed areas or habitats provide the reasons why some fish are coming and some fish are going out of our area.

The study, which assesses the vulnerability of coastal habitats to climate change, relates that salt marshes, shellfish reefs, deep-sea corals, seagrasses, kelp, and intertidal habitats are among the most vulnerable climate change habitats. These are the very places the fish we love catch forage and spawn.

“The coastal habitats with the highest climate vulnerability are also those most often at risk from degradation due to coastal development and pollution,” A media advisory about the study said. “The assessment highlights the importance of prioritizing habitat protection and restoration to support resilience and adaptability to climate change.”

For example, the 2016 Northeast assessment ranked winter flounder as very highly vulnerable to climate change. This is due to low stock status in the southern part of its range and declining population productivity associated with increased nearshore temperature.

The new assessment says, “Habitats important to winter flounder, including submerged aquatic vegetation and tidal wetlands, are vulnerable to higher air and water temperature, sea level rise, and habitat fragmentation. The high climate vulnerability of these habitats, and high dependency of winter flounder on these habitats, suggests a potential critical nexus of climate vulnerability for this species.”

Places where winter flounder like to live, eat, swim are disappearing in our area, so the winter flounder stock is disappearing too.

The habitat assessment can assist in identifying climate research priorities, managing protected species and Designating Essential Fish Habitat and Habitat Areas of Particular Concern.

Healthy habitats are necessary for maintaining sustainable fisheries and recovering protected species. Understanding habitat vulnerability can provide a more complete picture of the vulnerability of those managed species. This is particularly true in cases where the populations are, at least in part, not meeting fishery or recovery objectives due to factors other than fishing mortality.

The study concludes, “Reducing stressors on habitats will make them more resilient to the effects of climate change. NOAA Fisheries takes a proactive approach to reducing climate change impacts and increasing resilience by assessing the vulnerability of habitats, fish, and fishing communities to guide management and conservation measures.”

The habitat vulnerability study findings were recently published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE at plos.org.

On Jan. 26, NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information released their State Climate Summaries for 2022.

Temperatures are heating up. Rhode Island temperatures have risen 4 degrees since the beginning of the 20th century and the temperature in Massachusetts rose by 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit. The report said, “Under a higher emissions pathway, historically unprecedented warming is projected to continue through this century. Intensified heat waves and less intense cold waves are projected.”

Another key highlight is that average precipitation in projected to continue to increase in both States, while naturally occurring drought is projected to be more intense because higher temperatures will increase evaporation rates.

Sea level is on the rise too. Global sea level is projected to rise, with a likely range of 1–4 feet by 2100. Sea level rise poses significant risks, including inundation, erosion-induced land loss, and greater flood vulnerability due to higher storm surge. For example in Rhode Island since 1930, the sea level has risen more than nine inches in Newport, which is faster than the global average. For State Climate Summaries visit https://statesummaries.ncics.org.

Cod and haddock: Elisa Cahill of Snug Harbor Marina, South Kingstown, said, “The weather has been off and when boats are fishing it is hard to find cod. They are catching monster cunner (choggies). It needs to get colder and all are optimistic the bite will be on again.”

To fish for haddock in Massachusetts Google haddock fishing Newburyport or Gloucester. Contact Manolin Charters who spoke at a RISAA seminar this week about haddock fishing, he can be contacted at manolincharters@gmail.com.

Freshwater: As temperatures rise and fall this week check safe ice conditions with cities and towns. Cole Freeman of Red Top Sporting Goods, Buzzards Bay, said, “The freshwater action for perch, pickerel and largemouth bass is taking place through the ice on small ponds that have ice.”