AP: With ‘climate change,’ black sea bass numbers increase

The Providence Journal reports the population of the black sea bass has spiked off New England’s coast and is becoming increasingly important to the area’s fishermen.

The state’s Department of Environmental Management last month loosened regulations governing recreational fishery for the species. The season has been extended by 31 days and increases the fall possession limit to seven fish per person per day, from five. In Rhode Island, water temperatures in Narragansett Bay have risen about 3½-degrees Fahrenheit since 1959.

Commercial fishing value for the fish has tripled in 9 years to more than $12 million.

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