Hesse quoted on northeast's rapidly warming ocean water
The ocean off Cape Cod is warming at a rate more than double what prior modeling predicted, according to a report released Thursday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The finding by researchers at the federal agency matches what has already been recognized locally over the past ten years, said the report's lead author, fisheries scientist Vincent Saba.
The climate change computer model used in the research has a greater resolution than models used to predict ocean temperature changes for the latest U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report from 2013, Saba said.
...
West Barnstable bluefin tuna fisherman Eric Hesse said Thursday the fishery has changed dramatically over the last 15 to 20 years, with what appears to be a strong correlation with warming waters. The largest fish, traditionally seeking out the coldest water, now stay around Cape Cod less frequently, Hesse said.
“We get a crack at them in early June and into July and then we start to see an influx of smaller fish,” he said. “Then by August it’s all the fish that used to swim around off the mid-Atlantic.”