Ecological Changes

The natural environment is always changing and everything is interconnected. So changes have a ripple effect. That is, if one part of the natural cycle changes, it impacts everything else. For example, herring have always come to the Passamaquoddy region to feed - this is an area very rich in plankton and krill. If anything negatively impacts the plankton the fish won't come.
But the other factor that might bring them is if they're being driven here by predators. Groundfish - like cod, pollock, haddock, etc. - are predators of herring. When the cod fishery disappeared in the Bay of Fundy in the late 1990s, we noticed a difference in the herring fishery. At the same time, we think the decline in cod stocks actually helped our lobster fishery because cod usually eat lost of young lobsters. Even though cod eat herring, they also drive them inshore. We can tell when predators are present because we catch them in the weir along with the herring. We haven't caught a cod - or even a dogfish - for five years or more.
We've been really concerned about the aquaculture industry because there are a lot of diseases that affect farmed salmon and other species and fish farmers use pesticides and chemicals to kill sea lice, for example. These chemicals don't just kill the sea lice - which are crustaceans - but they kill any crustacean, including krill, and also plankton which is the basis of the herring fishery.
Another area of ecological concern is the acidification of the ocean. This means that the ph level is changing which also affects copepods and other feed for herring. Scientists know that carbon in the atmosphere cause acidification of the ocean.
I know that we can't live and fish without having any impact on the environment but most fishermen are very aware of the things that threaten our fisheries and we want to do all that we can to protect the fisheries for future generations. Sometimes it seems like we're fighting an uphill battle and it can be very frustrating when government officials don't seem to understand the impact that their decisions have on our way of life.
Fishing is what I know and it's been such a good life for me that I want other people to have a chance to experience it too. That all depends on maintaining and managing the marine environment wisely.
But the other factor that might bring them is if they're being driven here by predators. Groundfish - like cod, pollock, haddock, etc. - are predators of herring. When the cod fishery disappeared in the Bay of Fundy in the late 1990s, we noticed a difference in the herring fishery. At the same time, we think the decline in cod stocks actually helped our lobster fishery because cod usually eat lost of young lobsters. Even though cod eat herring, they also drive them inshore. We can tell when predators are present because we catch them in the weir along with the herring. We haven't caught a cod - or even a dogfish - for five years or more.
We've been really concerned about the aquaculture industry because there are a lot of diseases that affect farmed salmon and other species and fish farmers use pesticides and chemicals to kill sea lice, for example. These chemicals don't just kill the sea lice - which are crustaceans - but they kill any crustacean, including krill, and also plankton which is the basis of the herring fishery.
Another area of ecological concern is the acidification of the ocean. This means that the ph level is changing which also affects copepods and other feed for herring. Scientists know that carbon in the atmosphere cause acidification of the ocean.
I know that we can't live and fish without having any impact on the environment but most fishermen are very aware of the things that threaten our fisheries and we want to do all that we can to protect the fisheries for future generations. Sometimes it seems like we're fighting an uphill battle and it can be very frustrating when government officials don't seem to understand the impact that their decisions have on our way of life.
Fishing is what I know and it's been such a good life for me that I want other people to have a chance to experience it too. That all depends on maintaining and managing the marine environment wisely.