WASHINGTON The Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine announced today that seven scientists have been awarded Early-Career Research Fellowships in the Environmental Protection and Stewardship track.
An unprecedented marine heat wave that led to a massive harmful algal bloom and a lengthy closure of the West Coast Dungeness crab fishery significantly altered the use of ocean resources across seven California crab-fishing communities.
The delayed opening of the 2015-16 crab-fishing season followed the 2014-16 North Pacific marine heat wave and subsequent algal bloom. The bloom produced high levels of the biotoxin domoic acid, which can accumulate in crabs and render them hazardous for human consumption.
That event, which is considered a âclimate shockâ because of its severity and impact, tested the resilience of Californiaâs fishing communities, researchers from Oregon State University, the University of Washington and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrationâs Northwest Fisheries Science Center found.
Dungeness crab. Oregon Sea Grant photo.
The North Pacific marine heat wave of 2014 to 2016 and subsequent algae bloom severely tested California fishing communities dependent on Dungeness crab – and demonstrated how they could adapt to sudden climate changes, according to a new study by West Coast scientists.
The bloom produced high levels of the biotoxin domoic acid, forcing a delay in the 2015-2016 crab season when “roughly two-thirds of all vessels stopped fishing temporarily while others switched to different fisheries or moved to more favorable locations,” according to a summary from Oregon State University, where researchers worked with colleagues at the University of Washington and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center.
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