It may be hard to see, but a warm trend is being recorded in the North Pacific Ocean.
For the past few years, scientists have been tracking record setting temperatures in the ocean and this is the warmest conditions in the Gulf of Alaska for the first time in several decades.
Ocean Networks Canada Associate Director of Science Richard Dewey says because of the higher temperatures, they are also seeing more warmer water species moving in.
“It’s been out there long enough that the warmer species migrate north ward from the lower latitudes,” says Dewey, “latitudes like off of California and Mexico, and we see those species starting to come up looking for food resources, the northern climates typically have better food resources, but warmer species don’t like to come up into colder water.”
Dewey says this puts extra competition on local species, including salmon.
He says this warm trend could last for the next while, but a few good winter storms could level out the temperature.