Ice has been steadily disappearing from the Gulf of St. Lawrence — record levels were recorded last winter — and federal officials say it could be gone completely within 20 years.
Officials say it’s a clear sign of global warming and is raising concerns about the effects on the coast and coastal communities around Cape Breton Island.
“You know, we could be wiped out in a couple of years with this warmer water,” said Greg Organ, a fisherman from Neils Harbor, N.S.
Climate change has meant Cape Breton fishermen don’t always have to take their boats out of the water in the winter to avoid ice, Organ said during an interview last March while he was home during a break from halibut fishing, which he used to start after the ice disappeared.
“Drift ice is almost non-existent and, like 40 or 50 years ago, it was usually here until mid-April at least, and even until May there was drift ice and we couldn’t go. (fishing) but now we can go.
“This is the third year in a row we have had a fishery in March, so it is definitely changing.”
But Organ said warmer water could introduce diseases. He fears that this will further distance the capture.
“I’m no expert, but I know they used to have a lobster fishery off New York and those southern states and as far as I know, it’s all gone. “Everything is moving north in search of cold water.”
The lowest ice in 12 of the last 15 years
Setting Canada senior meteorologist George Karaganis said there are still seasons with above-average ice in the Gulf, but the 12 winters with the least ice coverage have occurred in the last 15 years.
Joel Chasse, a research scientist at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, said multiple models show ice sheet shrinkage on the East Coast is likely to continue.
“We predict that by 2040 or 2045, there will be barely any ice in most winters in the Gulf,” he said.
Chasse said ice scales back the impact of storms, helping to reduce coastal erosion and damage to docks by slowing waves.
The ice cover also prevents sediment from churning up and filling port entrances, reducing the need for dredging, something that has become increasingly necessary.
The lack of ice also appears to have changed marine life, with seals and whales moving into the depths of the Gulf.
Osborne Burke, general manager of Victoria Co-op Fisheries in New Haven, near Neils Harbour, said the lack of ice is one of the biggest changes he has seen in 50 years. He said it has had a devastating and costly effect.
In 2022, Post-Tropical Storm Fiona caused the Atlantic Ocean to overtop the region’s breakwaters, toppling a concrete wall at the fish farm and breaking docks and roads.
“This year is a perfect example,” he said. “There is practically no ice.
“As a result of that, there are more winter storms and, although we suffered some ice-damaged infrastructure, we now suffer much more from storm exposure, as the intensity and severity of the storms and the lack of ice cover “They are having a severe impact on that.”
Burke, who is president of the Nova Scotia Seafood Processors Group and represents the industry on regional and national small craft port committees, said the federal government is spending money rebuilding damaged infrastructure. by the storms, but said it needs to spend more to protect communities. and the coast from further damage.
He also said boat builders are making vessels bigger because fishermen have to travel farther to find their catch, but that only increases the cost to operators of bigger equipment, bigger engines and more fuel usage.
“There are challenges with that and the bottom line is, as they say, everything has to come from the end,” Burke said.
“So, in general, the consumer will end up paying more.”
The lobster may be threatened
He also said climate change is changing fish species and it’s still unclear what the impact might be, but it’s worrying.
“We’re seeing bass here like we’ve never seen before,” Burke said. “Fishermen open them or catch them recreationally and there are young lobsters in them.
“So you’re having impacts on other species that come into the area because of temperature change, climate change, and then you’re having impacts on those species, on existing species, like a very critical one for all of us… lobster.”
Marine Atlantic ferries between North Sydney and Newfoundland used to get stuck in ice coming in from the Gulf, but it’s been years since that happened.
