Changing cod distribution observed as ecosystem warms bottom to
top During the first six months of 2012, sea surface
temperatures in the Northeast Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem were
the highest ever recorded, according to the latest Ecosystem
Advisory issued by NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center
(NEFSC). Above-average temperatures were found in all parts of
the ecosystem, from the ocean bottom to the sea surface and
across the region, and the above average temperatures extended
beyond the shelf break front to the Gulf Stream. The annual 2012
spring plankton bloom was intense, started earlier and lasted
longer than average. This has implications for marine life from
the smallest creatures to the largest marine mammals like
whales. Atlantic cod continued to shift northeastward from its
historic distribution center. The Northeast US Continental Shelf
Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) extends from the Gulf of Maine to
Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The NEFSC has monitored this
ecosystem with comprehensive sampli