At http://phys.org/print348140840.html … a rib tickler from climate change troughers feeding on the public teat that was predictably broadcast loud and clear by the BBC news networks, and shoe-horned into the eyesight of the proles (watching their goggleboxes) by a metropolitan elite that fill their pockets (in the background). The claim is that fish and chip shops in the future will not be able to serve cod or haddock, or the humble rock salmon (small sharks known as dogfish by some), as the fish will all have migrated out of the North Sea to points far to the north, where cooler water may prevail. As the world has failed to warm since about 2003 this is a fishy story all round. Not only that, where do they think the fish and chip shops get their cod and haddock nowadays – after the politicos decimated the UK fishing industry as a gift aid to the continentals for the pleasure of joining the European Union. Up north is the answer.
Fish migrate all the time. It is not something peculiar to the last 30 years and has a long historical tradition. Why did our fishing fleets seek out cod in far flung places such as the Newfoundland banks way back when, some centuries ago. Why did UK fishing boats exploit Icelandic waters – as recently as the 1970s. Supposedly, fish and chip shops will be selling more exotic species, the sort of thing on sale now in places like Portugal.
The paper was published in Nature Climate Change (April 13th, 2015) – and that is probably all we need to know. The funny thing is they are preaching to a class of people who would not stoop so low as to haunt a fish and chip shop. Do the authors think ordinary people will take a jot of notice, especially as the cost of the journal is inhibitive, and not the sort of thing you might find on a newsagent magazine shelf. I suppose that is where the BBC comes in – fast forwarding the alarmist scare mongering. Auntie seems to be locked into a repeating bubble – and can't extricate itself from the time warp.