“This ‘climate change,’ it’s the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world, in my opinion. All of these predictions made by the United Nations and many others, often for bad reasons, were wrong. They were made by stupid people that have cost their countries fortunes and given those same countries no chance for success. If you don’t get away from this green scam, your country is going to fail.”
Wise words indeed from the leader of the Free World.
As everyone knows, U.S. President Donald Trump has long been a critic of climate science and policies aimed at helping the world transition to green energies like wind and solar. So, few were surprised when he made this pronouncement recently to an international audience at the United Nations in New York.
As our loyal readers know, this publication has been documenting the raft of scientific evidence supporting warming ocean temperatures due to climate and its negative effect on commercially valuable seafood species, including lobster.
For several years, American scientists have been monitoring the increase in ocean temperatures off the Northeast coast of the U.S. — notably the Gulf of Maine.
These so-called “stupid people” have proven that the Gulf of Maine, home to a $2-billion/year lobster fishery, is warming faster than 99 per cent of the world’s oceans. And they have come out with yet another study stating that warming oceans may pose a serious threat to American lobsters.
Scientists at William & Mary’s Batten School and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) have been studying the impacts of ocean acidification and warming on lobster reproduction and the results of their most recent research suggest the rising temperatures pose the greatest risk.
The study’s results revealed that the embryos can handle ocean acidification surprisingly well, but increased temperatures led to distinct stress responses that ultimately resulted in smaller larvae.
“American lobsters are dynamic creatures that have been shown to tolerate highly variable conditions as they move from coastal waters to the deeper ocean,” said the study’s lead author Brittany Jellison, who conducted the research as a postdoctoral scholar at the Batten School and VIMS.
“However, as we observe rising ocean temperatures, increased acidification and more frequent marine heat waves, it’s important to understand how future environmental changes might impact this economically and culturally important species.”
In the study, water temperature was set to mimic seasonal temperatures in the Gulf of Maine, with experimental temperatures increasing by four degrees Celsius to 2060 projections. The warmer water led to increased metabolic rates and faster embryo development. However, when the larvae hatched, they were measurably smaller than those that developed in cooler temperatures, despite their faster initial development.
The study also found that the biggest changes in embryo activity happened during the warmest months, which correlates with seasonal patterns but also raises concerns about what might happen as marine heatwaves become more frequent.
Understanding how early life stages are affected by predicted environmental changes is critical for protecting the future of the American lobster fishery.
While landings in the Gulf of Maine have increased in recent years, harvests in Southern New England are in decline — an indication that populations may be migrating north to cooler waters. However, as temperatures continue to rise with more frequent marine heat waves, even lobsters in the Gulf of Maine may eventually feel the impact.
So, what does this mean for lobster populations off Southwest Nova Scotia and in the Bay of Fundy?
There is no question that the climate in this region is changing. You only have to look at the summer of 2025, where Atlantic Canada continued to be much drier than normal, with widespread precipitation deficits and only brief relief from late-summer rainfall.
Most of Nova Scotia, eastern Labrador, and parts of eastern New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island received less than 40 per cent of normal precipitation, while much of New Brunswick and western Newfoundland saw less than 60 per cent.
Many regions across Atlantic Canada have recorded one of the driest July, August, September periods on record, including Amherst, Greenwood, Truro and Summerside recording the driest on record, Moncton, Saint John, Charlottetown the second driest on record, Halifax third driest on record.
Overall, the Atlantic region saw an increase in the severity and extent of drought.
Nova Scotia endured one of its driest late-summer periods on record. Most of the province received less than 40 per cent of normal precipitation. Precipitation deficits were largest along the Bay of Fundy and the western half of the province, as a result Extreme Drought (D3) expanded across much of the province and a pocket of Exceptional Drought (D4) emerged in parts of the southwest. Impacts have included reduced crop yield, reduced size and premature fruit drop. Additionally, low water levels have led to brooks and streams drying out. Halifax Water imposed mandatory restrictions for parts of Dartmouth and surrounding communities, while other municipalities, such as West Hants, maintained water bans.
And one does not have to be a climatologist to predict that this terrestrial warming trend is also taking place in our nearby oceans. Resources need to be laser-focused on the potential impact of warming waters of the lobster grounds — not only in SW Nova, but right across Atlantic Canada.
Despite the misguided beliefs of President Trump, climate change is real and our fishing industry has to be prepared for the consequences it brings.
