Here along the North Coast, we typically see heavy rains and gusty winds in November. But this year, area fire dangers have held a firm grip on the spotlight. The dry spell isn't only affecting area vegetation, it's also impacting local rivers and streams raising concerns among local fishermen. With the start of the commercial crabbing season right around the corner, Meteorologist Dan Romano tagged along with one captain who is concerned about how the lack of rain might impact what he pulls out of his pots next month and what he reels in next summer.
Posted by Redwood News on Thursday, November 15, 2018
EUREKA, Ca (KIEM)-Dave Bitts has been trolling the Pacific waters off the North Coast for decades.
“I almost have been making a living out of it for 40 years,” said Bitts.
The hum of Elmarue, his 45-foot fishing boat, is often dwarfed by the sounds of his chuckles and his enthusiasm for reeling in the catch of the day. Although semi-retired, Bitts finds any excuse he can to take his boat out on the water.
“I think of myself as primarily a salmon fisherman that loves to fish crabs to get through the winter time,” said Bitts.
On this spectacularly sunny November afternoon, the Elmarue Captain is heading out to collect what other crabbers have behind.
“I thought we could rescue those traps from the ocean,” said Bitts.
Just a few minutes into the trip, Bitts airs his concerns about what he is not seeing.
“We should be having big southerlies, big seas, and lots of rain this month. And it’s not happening,” said Bitts.
For the hundreds of commercial fishermen in the area like Captain Dave, the Dungeness crab season is a big gamble.
“When you set your crab gear, you’re setting $50,000 in the ocean hoping to get it back, or more,” said Bitts.
The commercial crabbing season is scheduled to begin on Dec. 1 along the North Coast, but the lack of rain this fall has Bitts concerned.
“I can’t back this up statistically. But I have a feeling that if we have storms in November, we’re going fishing in December and we’ll have a better chance for better weather in December,” said Bitts.
Troy Nicolini, the Meteorologist-in-Charge at the Eureka office of the National Weather Service, knows the importance of the start to the season.
“For openers of really critical seasons, the weather is really important on those periods of time, more so than other times of the year,” said Nicolini.
In addition to keeping an eye on the area skies, Nicolini also dabbles his nets in the deep blue seas.
“In my spare time, I spend some time on commercial fishing boats fishing anchovies in the bay for the tuna fleet. For example, and at times, I’ve been on crab boats and salmon boats,” said Nicolini.
However, for those seeking crab, there is another concern that is relatively new to the industry.
“In crabs, that is the toxin domoic acid that we do not want to mess with,” said Bitts.
According to the California Department of Public Health, the toxin can be fatal to human. Worse yet, domoic acid is virtually undetectable in crabs and other shellfish without scientific tests and cooking the crabs thoroughly doesn’t rid the meat of toxin.
“That’s a phenomenon that’s not really understood,” said Nicolini. In fact, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife has delayed the recreational Dungeness crab season for areas stretching from Patrick’s Point to the Oregon border due to “unhealthy levels” of domoic acid. The California Department of Public health is also warning the public against eating Dungeness crab caught from Patrick’s Point near Trinidad to the Oregon border due to elevated levels of domoic acid.
With that said, Nicolini says there is a correlation between the toxic acid and the ocean.
“Sea-surface temperatures have a big impact on domoic acid production,” said Nicolini.
The recent relatively light winds and docile weather decreases the amount of upwelling along the Northern California coasts. That process lifts cooler waters from the deep to the surface bringing with it more nutrients as well.
“It’s weird. The lack of wind is nice, because you can go on the water. But the lack of wind is bad because it reduces the actual fishing volume,” said Nicolini.
Many meteorologists, including Troy Nicolini, believe El Nino is responsible for the dry pattern.
El Nino is a meteorological weather pattern that causes the equatorial waters in the Eastern Pacific Ocean to become warmer-than-average.
Look at the weather now. It’s a mild El Nino. We’re seeing a late start to the rainy season. That seems rather consistent with our understanding. And if it wasn’t for the domaic acid, this would create favorable conditions for crab fishing to go out into the ocean,” said Nicolini.
The lack of rains is concerning for another group of commercial fishermen.
“Rainfall patterns are crisply an issue for salmon people. We need enough water, cool enough water, for the adult fish to get up the river and spawn,” said Bitts.
Like crabs, the pick fish thrive in cooler waters off our coast.
“Cold water is good for salmon. Warm water is not so good for them. And we seem to be a warming trend,” said Bitts
“If it’s not windy, we’re not going to get upwelling. If we’re not getting upwelling, then we’re not getting nutrients to the surface. If we’re not getting nutrients to the surface, we’re not getting zooplankton. We don’t get those, we’re not getting anchovies. We don’t get those, we’re not getting salmon,” said Nicolini.
For many, the lack of salmon is hard to overcome.
“It’s hard to come up with a combination of other fisheries that takes the place of salmon for the summer months if the salmon aren’t there,” said Bitts.
The weather now doesn’t impact the stock of salmon for years when the fish are big and old enough to be caught.
“The ocean conditions have an impact right now on people being able to get out into the ocean and fish, but they have a longer impact food web and primary production and that leads to how big the salmon will be and how fat they’ll be down the road,” said Nicolini.
Nicolini isn’t quite ready to blame the change in weather on climate change, yet.
“It may or may not be directly impacted by climate change — it’s really hard to tell. But we know that weather can be unpredictable and that patterns can change all the time. So, it’s really hard to unravel that mystery of is this an early sign of dramatic climate change or is this some odd winters,” said Nicolini.
If the shift of seasons turns into a long-range trend, that may cause a shift in the industry.
“There will be winners and losers in climate change. Some species will actually do well in climate change, and some will do not. So, I imagine from the fishing perspective, that the focus of our efforts will shift to species that do well under climate change scenarios,” said Nicolini.
Both Bitts and Nicolini agree the only way future generations of commercial fisherman will thrive is to adapt.
“If every industry and in every aspect of our life, we have to learn to adapt to it, so that applies to commercial fishing as well,” said Nicolini.
“We all need to learn to tread lighter on the Earth and be mindful of what we do for other people, other creatures, and the future,” said Bitts.
Last year, nearly 15 million pounds of Dungeness crabs were caught along the Northern California coastline.
“If we don’t stand up for them, they’ll go away,” said Bitts.
