AP quotes Wahle in report on concern over increase in black sea bass
Rick Wahle, a University of Maine research professor at the Darling Marine Center, spoke with the Associated Press for a report about the increase in black sea bass off Maine and New Hampshire as ocean temperatures rise. The sea bass, which prey on lobsters, have some fishermen and lobstermen concerned over the effect on the lobster industry, according to the article. Wahle said growing black sea bass populations off New England could be a threat to lobsters. He said the traditional predator of New England’s lobsters — the Atlantic cod — is imperiled and black sea bass could fill that void. “It might even fill the role of some of the native ground fish that have been depleted,” Wahle said, noting that lobsters face other dangers as waters warm, including shell disease. “It’s not the only threat coming from the south,” he said. ABC News, The Telegraph, Redwood Times, Portland Press Herald and Sun Journal carried the AP report.