Everything said and brought to attention in this PBS reporting is important, but take a particular note the moment this sentence is said:
“So China’s retaliatory tariffs benefit the Canadian industry, already growing as the Gulf of Maine warms, pushing lobsters north.”
Humans can add or remove layers of clothing or switch a button to get a gust of hot or cold air from a man-made air conditioning system. Animals, be it marine or terrestrial feel every temperature change just like us, but unlike us they do not have the capacity to make themselves comfortable artificially. The only thing they know, and this without truly thinking about it, is to settle where they feel more at ease. As the water warmed up over the decades, Lobsters started to be less abundant in the southern confine of the Lobster range, which is the Carolinas, and became more abundant in Canada where now the waters are becoming more suitable. And in the near future, say 40 years from now, the coast of the United States can reach temperatures warm enough to completely collapse the lobster fisheries. This is not farfetched, already experienced by Canada with its massive industrial closures in the 1990’s due to the Northern Cod stock collapse. During the period of collapse well over 30,000 individuals were affected and the commerce never got up off its feet either. Therefore in the future the US might only have the spiny lobster types as a significant resource, but their taste and texture aren’t quite the same.