How a cold pulse in the Northwest Atlantic reshaped East Coast fisheries

Fishers in the Northeast began noticing an unusual shift in the summer of 2023. Some familiar catches, including shortfin and longfin squid, declined, while cold-water species such as mackerel bounced back from years of decline. A new study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans finds that a pulse of cold, fresh water brought unusually cold conditions to the region, disrupting fisheries from New England to the Mid-Atlantic.

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