Ducks Unlimited, the "world's largest (700,000 members) and most effective private waterfowl and wetland conservation organization", joined with the Wildlife Management Institute and other conservation groups (to include Trout Unlimited and the Isaak Walton League) in producing a new report entitled, "Seasons' End: Global Warming's Threat to Hunting and Fishing", in which they detail the impact of global warming on fish and wildlife and the future of hunting and fishing in the U.S.
Especially alarming for us in Virginia is global warming's potential impact on saltwater and freshwater fishing - an $1.23 billion industry in Virginia. (Read more on the flip...)
"Rising sea levels and higher salinity gradients will alter estuarine ecology, resulting in a decline or loss of critical nursery and feeding areas", says Dr. Luiz Barbieri, director of the Marine Fisheries Research Section of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.The loss of such critical foraging and nursery habitat will mean a dramatic reduction in algae, zooplankton and macro-invertebrates, the primary food sources for juvenile and small forage fishes. "The loss of habitat essential to fish in the early stages of their life history will impact the structure of marine communities," says Barbieri. "The consequences of loss or degradation of nursery areas will eventually show up in the size and numbers of fishes most popular among sportsmen."
Increased seawater temperatures will directly affect a wide range of factors critical to fishes' survival - the availability of food, the timing and success of reproduction and migrations, and the prevalence of disease. "As yet, we don't know how saltwater fish will adapt to a change in water temperature," says Kenneth Haddad, the executive director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "We do know, however, that temperature influences fish in every phase of their life cycle. The survival of a species will depend on its ability to adapt to warmer conditions."
Based on current data regarding saltwater fish and global warming, scientific projections include the following:
G求 Subsequent to only a moderate increase in water temperature, changes in distribution, growth rates and recruitment success will benefit some species. Among others, large population declines and possible local extinctions may occur.
G求 Sea-level rise will destroy thousands of acres of coastal salt marshes and sea grass beds that are home to egg, larval and juvenile stages of game fish.
G求 The prevalence of disease caused by marine bacteria, fungi and parasites may increase with rising water temperatures.
G求 Cold-water fish will retreat from the southern boundaries of their ranges, while warm-water fish populations will expand into more northerly waters.
G求 Warming waters may encourage the prevalence of invasive species that compete for the prey and habitat of native saltwater game fish.
G求 Increasingly frequent and severe storms could disrupt feeding and nursery conditions for the eggs and larvae of game fish like snook and croaker, causing declines in recruitment.
Other effects on Virginia's total fishing industry as it relates to freshwater fish include:
G求 Nationally, up to 42% of current trout and salmon habitat will be lost before the end of the century, with the south, southwest and northeast experiencing especially severe reductions. Many trout species already listed as threatened or endangered will become increasingly vulnerable to extinction.
G求 In the lower elevations of the Appalachian Mountains, as much as 97% of the wild trout population will die.
According to the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Virginia's fishing industry in 2005, "generated a total of $1.23 billion in output or sales, $717.4 million in value-added or income, and 13,015 full and part-time jobs for the economy of Virginia. Of the total $1.23 billion in sales and $717.4 million in value-added, the recreational sector contributed $823.7 million in sales or output and $478.4 million in value added or income. Out of the 13,015 full and part-time jobs, the recreational sector contributed 9,092 full and part-time jobs. The commercial seafood industry, which includes all economic activity from harvesters to restaurants, generated $407.9 million in sales or output, $239.0 million in value-added or income, and 3,923 full and part-time jobs."
In other words...
"The commercial and recreational fisheries of Virginia are relatively important to the economies of Virginia and various coastal communities, as well as to the well being of society. In addition, anglers receive substantial value in the form of non-monetary benefits from the experience of angling, and watermen typically receive non-monetary benefits from being able to maintain a particular lifestyle. Both of these activities offer potentially substantial contributions to the economies of Virginia and coastal communities."
Is a potential threat to Virginia's pocketbook in the amount of $1.23 billion going to be the ultimate kick in the pants that wakes Governor Kaine and other powers-that-be to get much more aggressive combating the threat to our Virginia way of life that global warming presents, and to perhaps reconsider policies (offshore drilling) and projects (Dominion's Wise County power plant) that stand to contribute massively to Virginia's own contribution to the problem? Do we add reason #13 to our "Twelve Reasons Why Offshore Drilling is Wrong for Virginia"?