June 4, 2020 — East Coast sea scallop stocks will likely follow lobsters in shifting away from rich Mid-Atlantic and southern New England grounds in the coming decades as a consequence of warming ocean waters, according to a new study that projects the impact of climate change on the two richest Atlantic fisheries.
Researchers used species distribution models and a high-resolution global climate model to picture the possible impact of climate change on habitat for lobsters and scallops in the Northeast continental shelf ecosystem, ranging from the New York Bight north to southern New England, Georges Bank and the Gulf of Maine.
The researchers note that the latest benchmark assessment of the lobster stock, cited by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission in 2015, showed the stock in the southern Mid-Atlantic range was already severely depleted due to several environmental factors including recruitment failure and shell disease related to warmer waters.