Northbound pollock headed for a cliff?

According to KUCB-Radio (via APRN), experts are trying to predict what the warming ocean may ultimately mean for the Bering Sea's valuable pollock fishery. The current thinking is that warmer oceans will be good for the sub-Arctic ecosystem overall but that there will be individual winners and losers as changes propagate through the complex, interconnected system. Some fisheries scientists are starting to think that Bering Sea pollock may wind up on the losing end of climate change. Studying data from the early 2000's, the researchers think a decrease in the number of copepods, which feed young pollock, may have been the reason for a drop in pollock recruitment (the number of fish reaching catchable size) over those same years. If the trend continues, and as stocks of pollock continue to move north, young pollock may not be able to find sufficient nutrition, and the number of available fish will shrink. Listen to much more, here.