Maine mussels are disappearing, climate change [Video]

MAINE, USA — About a decade ago, Blue Hill Bay mussel farmer Evan Young noticed it was getting more and more difficult to harvest mussel larvae — known as spat — needed to grow mussels.

“We are seeing less recruitment of wild mussel spat,” he said. ”We used to put lines in the water the first of July and they would attach. The spat would be in the water column for 30 to 45 days. There doesn’t seem to be as much in the water column.”

Experts believe the shortage of spat is due to warming waters and increased predation on the young shellfish due to green crabs, sea squirts and the like. The wild blue mussels population on the Maine coast has dropped 60 percent since the 1970s, according to a 2017 study.

“Whether or not it’s a direct or indirect …