Billions of Snow Crabs Have Starved to Death Over Past Two Years, Climate Change to Blame

Over the past two years, ten billion Alaskan snow crabs have starved to death. Why? Rapidly warming ocean temperatures caused, at least in part, by climate change. This means that, during the past few years, Climate change has led to the death of billions of these sentient beings. These Alaskan snow crabs inhabit the eastern Bering Sea, an area that is being disproportionately affected by Climate change. A new study looked into the shocking reason for the mass starvation of these creatures.

Source: PBS NewsHour/YouTube

The deaths of billions of snow crabs is just one way that human-driven Climate change is irrevocably altering the planet. This catastrophic event cannot be ignored. During the past four decades, temperatures in the Arctic region, where these crabs live, have experienced warming roughly four times quicker than the rest of the world. This puts many animals in the region in particular jeopardy as they struggle to adapt to a rapidly warming world.

A marine heatwave coupled with a population boom in 2018 and 2019 contributed to the demise of billions of snow crabs. Marine heat waves occur when marine temperatures become and remain unusually warm. However, the heatwave did not exceed the temperature that the crabs were able to physically tolerate. As ocean waters warmed, the crabs saw population levels rise in 2018 and 2019. However, the warmer waters caused the crabs’ metabolisms to speed up. This means that there was not enough food for all of the creatures to sustain themselves. The crabs then starved to death. In 2022, ten billion Alaskan snow crabs in the eastern Bering Sea died. 

The death of these billions of crabs has far-reaching consequences. Loss of these crabs may impact food chains and have repercussions for other animal species that eat these crabs. Additionally, on October 10th, the Alaska Department of Game and Fish halted fishing for snow crabs for the second season in a row. Since these crabs are valued at over 150 million dollars in the commercial fishing industry, this closure could have devastating economic consequences. 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has said that the death of billions of snow crabs is currently one of the largest losses of the type. This heartbreaking event shows the devastating effects that Climate change is having on the Arctic region and the world at large. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that this will be the last such event if human-driven Climate change remains to go unchecked. 

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