Melting ice threatens polar life
By Cameron Dueck on the Bering Sea The Canadian Arctic is facing another year of open water with the summer break-up of sea ice ahead of schedule in many key parts of the northern archipelago. The early break-up of ice underlines the growing impact of climate change in the Poles where temperatures have risen much more rapidly than in the rest of the world. As a result, September 2007 was the first time in living memory the entire Northwest Passage was open water from east to west. Despite slightly more ice, a record six private yachts transited the historic waterway last year, and this year’s traffic could beat that number. Loss of Arctic sea ice threatens wildlife such as polar bears, seals and walruses that use the ice as a platform for hunting, mating and migration. Further south, where Alaskan fishermen ply the Bering Sea in search of fish and crabs, they wonder if disappearing ice and warmer temperatures can be blamed for their change in fortunes. “The warming conditions have got to play some kind of role in all this,” said Byron Singley, captain of the Nancy Allen, a small fishing vessel based in Dutch Harbor, Alaska. He lamented the double impact of over-fishing and changes to weather patterns. “It seems the ice breaks up and starts moving north earlier and earlier every year. It’s been happening in March and April, but I remember being out there in May years ago, at the edge of the ice going for snow crab, because that’s where they are, at the edge of the ice. “ …
