Alaska’s Crabs Mystery Uncovered

Scientists have gathered more evidence of this. To announce Why are billions of crabs disappearing from the Bering Sea near Alaska in 2022? This alarming event was not caused by overfishing, but by shockingly warm water that has accelerated the crabs’ metabolism and starved them.

Parts of the Bering Sea are turning into less Arctic environments, a new study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows. The research suggests that warmer, ice-free conditions in the southeastern Bering Sea are now about 200 times more likely than they were before humans began burning fossil fuels.

While the region is undergoing this dramatic transformation, scientists are reporting a new shift in the ecosystem. The study shows how much the Bering Sea ecosystem has changed in the lifetime of a snow crab fisherman. And we should expect more warm years, said Michael Letzo, lead author and director of NOAA’s Kodiak Fisheries Laboratory in Alaska.

Consequences of climate change

Snow crabs, a cold-water species of the Arctic, thrive in areas where water temperatures are below 2 degrees Celsius. However, they can physically work in waters as low as 12 degrees Celsius. The marine heatwave of 2018 and 2019 was particularly deadly to the crabs. The warm water caused their metabolism to increase. However, there wasn’t enough food to keep up, causing billions of crabs to starve to death, hurting Alaska’s fishing industry.

The decline in Alaskan lobster numbers points to a broader shift in the Arctic ecosystem as oceans warm and sea ice disappears. The ocean around Alaska has become inhospitable to many marine animals, including red lobsters and sea lions. The warmer Bering Sea is also attracting new species, threatening those that have long thrived in the treacherously cold waters.

The consequences of climate change are far-reaching. Normally, there is a temperature barrier in the ocean that prevents species like Pacific cod from reaching the crabs’ cold habitat. But during the 2018-2019 heat wave, Pacific cod were able to enter these warmer-than-usual waters and eat some of the remaining snow crab populations.

As ecosystems continue to shift, fisheries managers are integrating new technologies like drones and artificial intelligence to detect and respond to environmental changes. The Arctic has warmed four times faster than the rest of the planet. Michael Letzo described this shift as a sign of what is to come. He stressed that we must all be aware of the consequences of climate change because people depend on it for their livelihoods.

Key points

• The Bering Sea is undergoing a massive transformation due to rising temperatures and declining sea ice.
• The decline in snow crab numbers in Alaska points to a broader shift in the Arctic ecosystem due to warming oceans and loss of sea ice.
• Climate change is affecting marine wildlife in the area, including red crabs and sea lions.

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