Climate change and overfishing are altering the Atlantic ocean ecosystem
By CLARKE CANFIELD, Associated Press Writer PORTLAND, Maine – The basic makeup of the ocean waters off the Northeast and the mid-Atlantic region has fundamentally changed in the past 40 years because of climate change, commercial fishing pressures and growing coastal populations, according to a new report. The 2009 Ecosystem Status Report says fish populations in U.S. waters from North Carolina to Maine have moved from their traditional home grounds because of a changing environment and human activities. The report is the broadest study that researchers have undertaken for U.S. waters in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, Michael Fogarty, who headed the study, said Tuesday. The findings show how interconnected the ecosystem is, he said. “We need to consider these interrelationships and connections. In some cases they aren’t obvious on the surface,” said Fogarty, head of the ecosystem assessment program at the NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Falmouth, Mass. “If we ignore them or don’t understand them, then we could come away with the wrong picture of what’s driving things.” Fogarty’s research team looked at variables such as water temperatures, circulation patterns, fishing pressure, pollution and habitat loss in a 100,000-square-mile area off the Northeast and mid-Atlantic coast. The area is one of 64 regions in the world’s oceans designated as a large marine ecosystem. A recurring theme of the report is that the ecosystem is changing. Commercial fishing practices have contributed to changes in the composition of the region’s fishery population, which is now dominated by species such as mackerel, herring, skates and small sharks, the report says. …
