OCEAN
OF TROUBLE
MY ENTIRE LIFE’S
RÉSUMÉ IS RUNNING
BOATS, AND THEY
AREN’T HIRING
THESE DAYS.”
counting fish is like counting trees, except “the trees are invisible and keep
moving around.”
But a growing number of scientists, as
well as fishermen like Mirarchi, recognize that another factor — global warming — is sending the already delicate and
opaque mechanics of marine ecosystems
into a period of rapid flux. Some research
suggests, for example, that as ocean temperatures rise, many fish species are being driven into deeper waters or toward
the planet’s poles. Those same shifting
conditions, meanwhile, are inviting historically anomalous breeds into new
ranges — with unpredictable results.
The precise degree to which these
phenomena are contributing to Mirarchi’s current plight is difficult to say,
but ample evidence suggests that such
changes are already affecting fisheries
across the globe. Last month, researchers at the University of British Columbia
pub \