They reported that their findings came down squarely on the side of a warming ocean environment and a changing climate, and not excessive harvest by fishermen. A study by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists released in 2018 concluded that valuable species of shellfish, including softshell clams, have become harder to find on the East Coast because of degraded habitats caused by a warming environment. Maine’s harvest of soft-shell clams — the clams used to make fried clams and clam chowder — dwindled to its lowest point since 1930 last year. Article Continued Below“Clammers aren’t the reason there’s no clams,” he said. But the scientists’ findings track with others who have studied the impact of warming waters on shellfish, such as Brian Beal, a professor of marine ecology at the University of Maine at Machias.

Source: thestar November 11, 2018 20:32 UTC