El Nino and 'Blob' Create Massive Warm Pool Off Oregon, Posing Challenge to Future Fisheries
SEAFOODNEWS.COM by John Sackton Aug 4, 2015
The massive pool of warm water stretching from the Pacific Coast of the US to Alaska is currently affecting only a few fisheries, but has the potential to impact more next year.
For the last month, in the area stretching from Southern California to Alaska, sea surface temperatures have been 1 to 3 degrees Celsius above normal (1.8 to 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit).
This has resulted in changes in plankton blooms, and a change in species. Scientists with Oregon State University say that tropical copepods have now been found in the Northwest, and native plankton are fewer in number. Fish and birds that would normally eat native plankton are shying away from the newcomers, as ...
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