CT fisheries are changing with the climate, and help is needed

Fishermen at the Seaview Avenue fishing pier in Bridgeport, Conn. on Tuesday, May 16, 2023.

In Connecticut, recreational fishing and commercial fishing combined have a significant impact on our economy — about $606 million in sales impact annually.

So it is vitally important for our state to both grow our fisheries to abundance so there are more fish in the water for all to catch, and, at the same time, we need to ready prepare our fisheries and our management system for the rapid increase of climate change impacts.

As an avid angler and president of the Connecticut Surfcasters Association, I have seen firsthand how climate change is affecting our fish populations. For example, cold water fish (like winter flounder and American lobster) have left our area for cooler temperatures, and warm water fish (like black sea bass and an abundance of scup) have moved into our state waters. We are even seeing exotic warm water fish like mahi, cobia, and sailfish being caught in greater abundance.

These stock shifts are happening due to warming water. Higher temperatures have enhanced bait profiles in our water and brought warm water fish and large animals, like tuna, sharks, porpoise and a variety of whale types, closer to shore than ever before. Another example is our beloved striped bass — the number one sportfish on the East Coast with more fishing trips attributed to it than any other species. The striper population is overfished, and even more, the fish are behaving differently--not migrating the way they used to, with fish being caught in our rivers and estuaries all winter long.

For Connecticut and our nation to sustain our fisheries and stem the tide on climate impacts, the National Oceanographic & Atmospheric Administration, specifically NOAA Fisheries, needs to be fully funded.

NOAA Fisheries will require more funding across its main fisheries science and management programs. Over the last decade, NOAA Fisheries and the councils have built a foundation for climate action and are now at a critical point where they need to accelerate their efforts.

The Climate, Ecosystems, and Fisheries Initiative proposed by NOAA Fisheries is the clear next step for the agency to implement climate-ready fisheries, but it hasn't been funded yet. CEFI should be a funding priority. It will improve NOAA Fisheries’ ability to manage the country's fisheries in the face of climate change by integrating climate information in science and assessment, implementing adaptation strategies, and adopting an approach to management decisions that is informed by what's happening in the ecosystem and climate. It will also help the agency better engage fisheries stakeholders in the management process. The $30 million needed to get CEFI off the ground is really a small investment to sustain the economic benefits that our fisheries have to our communities and to the nation.

I ask all anglers, the fishing industry, all Connecticut citizens and our members of Congress, Sens. Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal and Congresswoman Rose DeLauro, to support full NOAA funding and NOAA Fisheries in this year's budget process.

George Baldwin is a fisherman and recent president and current conservation chairman of the Connecticut Surfcasters Association.