Climate Change is Beating the Crab Out of Us

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Climate Change is Beating the Crab Out of Us

The Deadliest Catch?

In my never-ending quest to blend the little climate change stories – those canaries in oh-so-many coalmines – with the dramatic mega-climate slams in the form of intensifying natural disasters, I stumbled upon another one of those “little stories.” Unless you are a fisherman whose life and livelihood depend on abundant and predictable resources from our oceans and seas. While an increasing number of crops will not be able to survive the increases in average temperatures and water availability (or excess) on land – and may have to move if there is sustainable available alternative agricultural regions – for those tethered to specific regions where moving is too expensive, where specialized equipment and infrastructure are not readily movable, the choices may be limited. Like the sea.

For fishermen, if species completely disappear or migrate beyond their accessible reach, or worse, migrate into waters which are within sovereign territorial limits outside the US control or free navigation, they simply face professional extinction. So, today’s aqua-canary in the coalmine is the Bering Straits crab, where US governmental agencies are facing massive declines in regional sea life.

Bloomberg’s Zahra Hirji (October 18th) explains: “Bering Sea snow crabs have declined by ‘multiple billions,’ said Michael Litzow, NOAA’s shellfish assessment program manager…’We’re still trying to figure it out, but certainly there’s very clear signs of the role of climate change in the collapse.’ [The upshot:] Alaska officials recently canceled the Bering Sea snow crab season for the first time ever after scientists discovered an unprecedented decline in crab numbers…

“The decision to cancel, announced by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game on Oct. 10, came as a devastating blow for local fisheries in a state where the seafood industry is an economic cornerstone . Commercial landings last year of Alaska snow crab alone came to 44 million pounds and $219 million, according to NOAA data… The bad news didn’t end there. State officials also announced the cancellation of the Bristol Bay red king crab season for the second year in a row because of consistently low crab numbers.

“The Alaska commercial crabbing fleet ‘is bracing for half a billion dollars in losses going into the second year of stock collapse,’ the Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers trade association said in a news release, plus more ripple-effect losses in revenue to processors, support businesses and communities. The trade association represents about 60 vessels and 350 fishermen…

“In 2018, the NOAA-run annual survey revealed the population was booming. ‘We were looking at the largest amount of small crab’ — i.e., young crabs — ‘in the water that we’ve ever seen in the survey,’ said Ethan Nichols, assistant area management biologist at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. ‘There was a lot of hope and anticipation’ that this would translate to more commercial fishing in the area for years to come, he added.

“But the 2019 survey revealed a much-reduced population of small crabs, and the 2020 survey was nixed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. ‘Then in 2021, we went out, and there was just nothing,’ Litzow said. There were just enough adult crabs to meet the regulatory threshold to keep the commercial crabbing season open. But with so few smaller crabs around, the outlook for 2022 was grim. This year’s survey only confirmed that, resulting in the closure of the snow crab season for the first time.” Maybe those young crabs will survive, mature and reignite Bering Sea crabbing industry. But maybe they won’t.

The fishing industry has taken to fish-farming (or “ranching”), which recently added the coveted bluefin tuna to the species being raised… in off-shore cages. A bluefin tuna can sell for tens of thousands of dollars if not more, so this is big business. Not only is there great build-up of waste toxicity where these cages are located, but the ecological balance – from prey to predators – is materially disrupted. Further, these changes also impact those fishermen focused on other species.

As the global population grows and demand for increasing amount of food soars, the number of food impaired people is rising fast, not just from climate change but from the ravages of conflict as well. According to the International Food Policy Research Institute: "Almost a billion people are suffering from undernourishment. They simply don't have enough to eat… And more than two billion people are suffering from nutritional deficiencies…” But food insecurity and fear of running out of sustenance for your own population give rise to conflicts as well. Battles for dwindling resources. Malthusian population growth and hyper-accelerating climate change are particularly bad mix.

China’s expansion of its manmade island in the Spratly chain was just as much about claiming the regional oceanic resources as much as it was a military statement. Russia’s claim of Ukraine and its assertion of control of Arctic waters reflect a growing willingness of this superpower to use force to take what they want. And maybe richer nations can afford to pay for the higher food prices – which is a huge issue in our own mid-terms – but those at the bottom of the economic ladder are running out of options. They simply starve to death.

I’m Peter Dekom, and my little story about a few fishermen losing their livelihoods just might be part of the biggest story in mankind’s history.