Dcember 12, 2012 — Carl Wills has been fishing in Long Island Sound for 58 years, and two months ago, for the first time in his life, he saw a sea turtle.
Working a night shift for a charter fishing company out of City Island in the Bronx, Wills, 61, was taking a moment to relax when the four-foot-wide turtle surfaced alongside the boat, the Island Current II.
“All of a sudden, this big thing comes out of the water and sticks its head up. What the hell?” says Wills, describing his reaction. “It was amazing to see that.”
Six species of sea turtle are found in U.S. waters, and they all usually dwell in the southeastern or Chesapeake Bay region. They are also not the only warm water animals to be living in Long Island Sound this fall.
Water temperatures in the Sound have been gradually rising for the past 30 years, a trend many area scientists attribute to global warming. Waters in the region around New York are warming faster than any other region in the country, and hit a record high this year on the eve of Hurricane Sandy. The trend threatens to destabilize a fragile marine ecosystem and the livelihoods of local fishermen already struggling to break even.
This year’s high water temperatures seem to be the result of an unusually warm winter persisting into the spring and summer months, according to scientists. They add that unseasonably high air temperatures are also coupled to the warming water.
The warming water in the region is disrupting traditional migration patterns, says Josh Kohut, an assistant professor in marine and coastal sciences at Rutgers.
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