Fish & Fisheries

Efforts to keep the invasive Asian Carp from migrating upstream caused Congress to shut down Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock & Dam. That will end end 52 years of barge traffic on the northernmost stretch of the Mississippi River.

"Hundreds of thousands of tiny crabs have been washing up on Southern California beaches, marring the sandy coastline with streaks of red, as warm ocean currents carry them farther north and closer to shore than usual, officials said on Wednesday."

"Scientists are concerned that officials waited too long to order a ban on U.S. Pacific sardine fishing that goes into effect July 1. The dire state of the sardine population is a cautionary tale about overharvesting these and other forage fish that are a critical part of the marine food web."

"The West Coast is experiencing the largest bloom of toxic algae in more than a decade, prompting wide-ranging closures of commercial crab and shellfish harvesting."

"Climate change could threaten the distribution and prevalence of many key ocean species. New studies reveal that all aspects of a changing climate -- from ocean acidification in the Arctic to rising temperatures on the continental shelf in the Northeast -- could shake up the fishing industry both economically and ecologically in and around the United States."

"Cold-water corals growing in deep water off Maryland and the rest of the mid-Atlantic coast would be protected from most harmful fishing activity under a sweeping plan approved Wednesday."

"More than 35,000 square miles (90,650 sq km) of ocean habitat along the U.S. Atlantic coast gained protection on Wednesday from trawl and dredge fishing that could harm deep-sea ocean corals, according to an environmental group supporting the restrictions."

"Fish such as black seabass and summer flounder that prefer warm water are appearing more frequently in Long Island Sound because of climate change, according to a report released Monday on the health of the sound."