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[Narrator] There is a place...

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on this blue planet...

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unlike any other...

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...where ice retreated,

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water flowed in...

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and life exploded.

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The first people here
called it "The Dawnland"--

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the place
where the sun rose first.

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This is the story

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of how we used the treasure
of this place...

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...founded nations...

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...and devastated others.

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Today, this sea within a sea

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is warming faster
than 97% of the global ocean.

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So, what happens here
in the Gulf of Maine

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could happen everywhere,

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for jobs,

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for culture,

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for every living thing.

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But there is
a hidden strength here.

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Fishers, scientists
and the first people here

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believe answers
are in the sea...

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...a way forward...

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to strike a balance
between people and nature.

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It will happen here,

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where we face the test
that will define us all...

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...in this place,

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where the sun rises first.

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[♪♪♪♪♪]

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For thousands of years,

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the Gulf of Maine was one of
the richest places on earth.

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36,000 square miles,

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stretching from Cape Cod
to Nova Scotia in Canada.

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A special combination
of temperature,

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geography, and currents

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created an underwater Eden
teeming with life.

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For millennia,

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life in the Gulf of Maine
struck a balance and thrived.

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But in just a few centuries,

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overfishing cleared out
much of its abundance.

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This is the story

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of how we harvested
this sea of plenty,

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built empires on its cod,

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and pushed this bounty
to its limit.

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I am worried about the future

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because there's
less and less clams down here.

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[Narrator] About how

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this remarkable place
has suffered a thousand cuts

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and how the animals
and people here

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have had to adapt...

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or move on.

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[Elizabeth Craig]
These birds live a long time

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and a lot has changed here,

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so each individual bird

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is experiencing that change
in their lifetime.

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[Narrator] Now the Gulf of Maine
faces its greatest challenge.

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As it warms,
some species disappear

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as others explode.

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[Brian Altvater] I never knew
what a green crab was

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until just a few years ago.

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It's something
I never experienced growing up.

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[Narrator]
How will the gulf adapt

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and survive its deepest cut yet?

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[♪♪♪♪♪]

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[♪♪♪♪♪]

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In spring and summer,

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many of the things
that live in the Gulf of Maine

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spawn,

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and all those tiny offspring
fill the sea...

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[♪♪♪♪♪]

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...and then the eating begins.

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Tiny gets eaten by small...

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small by medium...

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medium by large,

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and a lot of it
gets eaten by us.

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Much of this eating
starts with tiny critters

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called "copepods".

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About 30 nautical miles
off of Midcoast Maine,

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a team of scientists
is on the hunt

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for some of the tiniest
creatures in the gulf.

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Looks nice!
It's kind of warm out here!

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[exhales happily]

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[laughs]

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Day in the life!

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[Narrator] David Fields is
a zooplankton ecologist.

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-You ready?
-Ready?

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He's joined

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by research associate
Maura Niemisto.

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[Fields] So shallow net first?

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[Niemisto]
Shallow net first, please.

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[Narrator] They're here
to check on the engine

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that drives this ecosystem--

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a copepod
called "calanus finmarchicus".

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Copepods are tiny crustaceans.

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About five of them
could fit in a grain of rice.

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[Fields]
We're going to drop this in.

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We're looking to find out

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the abundance
and the identity

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of all the copepods

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that are down in
the water column,

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from the bottom
to the surface.

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I'm just going
to drop it.

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[Niemisto] Yeah.

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Surface, goin' down.

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[Niemisto]
We're searching for zooplankton,

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so, small animals,

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about a millimeter in size,

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that are the base
of the food chain.

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When we count and identify
the animals we find,

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we'll be able to say

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how dense those animals are

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and look at how they've
changed over time and space.

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[Fields] There it is.

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[Niemisto] Nice.

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[Narrator] The first sample
does not disappoint.

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Dense...

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full of calanus.

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If I was a right whale,
this is where I'd be.

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It's packed-filled with calanus

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and it really is
just liquid sunshine.

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[Narrator] Calanus are

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some of the fattiest copepods
in the world.

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[Fields] These are

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the primary food source
for the right whales,

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but they also,
in their younger stages,

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tend to be the food source

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for cod,

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for the shrimp,

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for much of the fisheries
that are out there,

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including the lobsters.

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[Narrator] Calanus may be tiny,

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but they number
in the trillions.

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[Fields] The reason
why a 40-ton animal

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can live off of an animal
that's two millimeters

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is because they're energy-rich.

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They store a lot of fat.

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And by the time
winter rolls around,

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these animals
go down to the bottom,

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much like what you're seeing
at the bottom here.

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And so you can imagine

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a butter layer

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from here to Norway

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of three meters thick
of high-density fat animals,

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and these whales

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just coming down
and scooping up that fat layer.

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And to survive,

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they need to eat about

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2000 to 3000 pounds
of calanus a day.

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[Narrator]
So having huge numbers

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of calanus in the gulf
is critical.

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[Niemisto] Understanding

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the smallest scale organisms
and systems and ecosystems

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really helps us

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start to understand
how the world works

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in a way
that we can't really see

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when we zoom out
to larger-scale things.

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[Narrator]
It's not just about quantity,

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it's where these critters
are hanging out,

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because so many in the gulf
eat them...

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...and those animals migrate

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to wherever
dinner's being served.

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So here we are
at 30 nautical miles offshore.

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All right.
You guys already hooked up?

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-Yep.
-Already hooked up.

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[Narrator] Once a month,

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David and his team

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get a snapshot
of what's on the menu.

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[Fields] The real beauty

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of doing
these kind of measurements

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is in the repetition

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of coming out
over long time periods,

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to try to separate out

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the natural variability
that happens year to year,

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from the superimposed change

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that's happening
due to climatic conditions,

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or changing climates.

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Coming up!

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[Narrator]
The sample is a surprise.

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Usually in spring and summer,

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calanus live in
the top layer of the gulf,

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where they're fed on

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by everything
from herring to whales.

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By late summer,

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this kind of copepod

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typically drops
to cold waters at depth

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and goes dormant,

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literally chilling out.

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[Fields] Here we are now
in November,

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and we're sampling
in the upper 10 meters.

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We're still finding
an abundant number of calanus.

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And it's unclear to me

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whether the animals

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that we're seeing
up in the upper water column

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are because the water is warmer,

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or if that's just
kind of their natural cycle.

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[Narrator] Whatever the reason,

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hungry whales will go
wherever they need to eat.

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[Fields]
As the climate gets warmer,

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the whales will search
for those places

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and they'll find them.

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I mean, there's no doubt
about that.

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But as they move into
these new hunting grounds,

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those happen to be
in shipping lanes.

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They happen to be

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in fishing grounds
that are unregulated.

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[Narrator]
So this tiny creature

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is having
an outsized impact here.

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These are
the charismatic megafauna.

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They really are.

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As a group,

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they are such an important level
in that food chain

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that disruptions
that happen at these levels

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are transmitted

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all the way up the food chain
and down the food chain.

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[Narrator] As if on cue,

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the top of the food chain
arrives...

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[screaming]

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It's like a flipper!

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That's fantastic!

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[Narrator]
A northern right whale

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makes a rare appearance,

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trailed by pilot whales
and white-sided dolphins.

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[Niemisto] I think this is

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the second time
I've ever seen them out here.

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[Fields] Yeah, wow.

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It's really just extraordinary.

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Oh, that is so beautiful!

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Unbelievable!

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What a treat.

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We've seen one or two whales
out here in the past.

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And we've certainly seen

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the white-sided dolphins
out here

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and the mola molas.

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But it's really
a fantastic sight.

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[Narrator]
As the Gulf of Maine warms,

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these sightings
are becoming less frequent

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because whales are moving
to where the water is colder

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and where the food is.

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Here in the gulf,
it's all about the eating,

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and, for thousands of years,

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one eater topped them all,

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a ferocious predator
that ate anything on offer,

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but one which you might be
more familiar with

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as the fish in fish and chips...

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the codfish.

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The First People
in the Gulf of Maine

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fished cod
for thousands of years,

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taking only
what they could eat and trade.

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By the 11th century,

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Vikings were following codfish

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from Scandinavia

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to the North Atlantic Coast
of North America.

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In the early 1600s,

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the first permanent colonists
showed up.

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[Mark Kurlansky]
There were hundreds,

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maybe thousands of Europeans,

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fishing in these waters
in the Gulf of Maine,

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and coming to the shore
to dry and cure fish.

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[Narrator]
Using racks to dry fish

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was already
a centuries-old technology

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and was used
well past the Colonial Period.

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The attraction wasn't just
the sheer number of fish,

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it was the biology
of this particular fish.

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[Kurlansky] It has no fat

265
00:11:27,105 --> 00:11:29,305
and it is ideal for curing,

266
00:11:29,305 --> 00:11:30,905
for salting or drying,

267
00:11:30,905 --> 00:11:32,371
and before refrigeration,

268
00:11:32,371 --> 00:11:33,271
that was the only way

269
00:11:33,271 --> 00:11:35,438
you could have
a commercial fish.

270
00:11:35,438 --> 00:11:38,871
Live codfish
is about 18% protein,

271
00:11:38,871 --> 00:11:40,038
so once you dry it,

272
00:11:40,038 --> 00:11:42,371
the percentage of protein
is huge.

273
00:11:42,371 --> 00:11:44,538
This is like a protein wafer.

274
00:11:46,271 --> 00:11:49,105
[Narrator] Cured cod
could be stockpiled for months

275
00:11:49,105 --> 00:11:50,705
and travel well.

276
00:11:51,738 --> 00:11:54,005
Soon, this protein wafer

277
00:11:54,005 --> 00:11:55,771
became a staple
in colonial diets

278
00:11:55,771 --> 00:11:57,638
up and down
the Atlantic Seaboard.

279
00:12:01,138 --> 00:12:02,705
By 1700,

280
00:12:02,705 --> 00:12:04,171
a triangle of trade

281
00:12:04,171 --> 00:12:06,971
between the New World,
West Africa and Europe

282
00:12:06,971 --> 00:12:08,205
had exploded,

283
00:12:08,205 --> 00:12:10,571
pumping wealth
into places like Boston.

284
00:12:11,771 --> 00:12:13,638
Slavery was one of the ways

285
00:12:13,638 --> 00:12:15,671
in which you could make
a lot of money,

286
00:12:15,671 --> 00:12:18,538
so codfish merchants
wanted to get in on it,

287
00:12:18,538 --> 00:12:21,605
and they would sell salt cod
to West Africa--

288
00:12:21,605 --> 00:12:24,371
which is why
it's a staple in Nigeria today--

289
00:12:24,371 --> 00:12:27,271
and from that,
buy slaves for the Caribbean.

290
00:12:28,505 --> 00:12:30,738
[Narrator] The trade in cod
cannot be disentangled

291
00:12:30,738 --> 00:12:32,771
from the trade in humans.

292
00:12:32,771 --> 00:12:35,171
That combination
of wealth and misery

293
00:12:35,171 --> 00:12:37,471
was a part of
New England's foundation.

294
00:12:38,638 --> 00:12:41,305
Cod made up more than
half of all its trade

295
00:12:41,305 --> 00:12:43,671
and became known
as "British Gold".

296
00:12:44,738 --> 00:12:47,338
And the families
who made fortunes from cod

297
00:12:47,338 --> 00:12:49,971
became known
as the "Codfish Aristocracy".

298
00:12:49,971 --> 00:12:52,205
[Kurlansky] By the 18th century,

299
00:12:52,205 --> 00:12:53,938
cod had lifted New England

300
00:12:53,938 --> 00:12:56,305
from a handful
of starving settlers

301
00:12:56,305 --> 00:12:58,938
to an international economy.

302
00:12:58,938 --> 00:13:00,071
[Narrator] Who soon realized

303
00:13:00,071 --> 00:13:02,738
that maybe they didn't need
Great Britain anymore.

304
00:13:03,938 --> 00:13:05,138
We learned in school

305
00:13:05,138 --> 00:13:07,605
how the American Revolution
was about freedom.

306
00:13:09,005 --> 00:13:10,538
It was about capitalism...

307
00:13:11,538 --> 00:13:13,905
...and about the right
to make money

308
00:13:13,905 --> 00:13:16,405
that was at the root
of New England thinking

309
00:13:16,405 --> 00:13:19,038
and at the root
of the American Revolution.

310
00:13:19,038 --> 00:13:20,538
And a lot of that

311
00:13:20,538 --> 00:13:24,571
came from the ability
to trade cod.

312
00:13:24,571 --> 00:13:26,171
[Narrator]
Trading in commodities,

313
00:13:26,171 --> 00:13:27,871
like timber and molasses,

314
00:13:27,871 --> 00:13:30,038
drove New England's economy.

315
00:13:30,038 --> 00:13:31,705
And critical to the list--

316
00:13:31,705 --> 00:13:33,838
slaves for cod.

317
00:13:33,838 --> 00:13:37,671
This deadly, lucrative trade
fueled the demand for fish,

318
00:13:37,671 --> 00:13:41,038
and innovative Yankees
were happy to oblige.

319
00:13:41,038 --> 00:13:43,705
[Kurlansky]
Every innovation was applied,

320
00:13:43,705 --> 00:13:45,471
where possible,

321
00:13:45,471 --> 00:13:47,005
to catching more fish.

322
00:13:47,005 --> 00:13:48,538
That's what fishermen
wanted to do

323
00:13:48,538 --> 00:13:50,171
was catch more fish.

324
00:13:52,171 --> 00:13:53,538
[Narrator] In the 17th century,

325
00:13:53,538 --> 00:13:58,038
an in-shore fisherman
could catch 200 fish in a day.

326
00:13:58,038 --> 00:13:59,871
About 300 years later,

327
00:13:59,871 --> 00:14:02,538
technology
had changed everything

328
00:14:02,538 --> 00:14:04,038
and a diesel-powered trawler

329
00:14:04,038 --> 00:14:06,938
could pull out that fisherman's
entire year's catch

330
00:14:06,938 --> 00:14:08,571
in a single day.

331
00:14:09,638 --> 00:14:11,471
Then the world took another leap

332
00:14:11,471 --> 00:14:13,771
with the invention
of flash-freezing food.

333
00:14:15,105 --> 00:14:17,605
[Kurlansky] Freezing opened
a different chapter

334
00:14:17,605 --> 00:14:20,338
in the international trade
of food

335
00:14:20,338 --> 00:14:24,038
because now you could ship food
everywhere.

336
00:14:24,038 --> 00:14:25,638
[Narrator]
Frozen fish sticks and filets

337
00:14:25,638 --> 00:14:29,105
became staples
in homes around the world,

338
00:14:29,105 --> 00:14:30,938
and by the end
of the 20th century,

339
00:14:30,938 --> 00:14:32,138
cod in the Gulf of Maine

340
00:14:32,138 --> 00:14:35,571
were fished
to 1% of historic levels.

341
00:14:37,005 --> 00:14:39,271
The gulf became
a different ecosystem.

342
00:14:40,805 --> 00:14:42,438
With one of their main predators

343
00:14:42,438 --> 00:14:45,205
largely gone
in a now warmer gulf,

344
00:14:45,205 --> 00:14:49,971
lobster populations increased
by 500% in just 30 years,

345
00:14:49,971 --> 00:14:51,771
resulting in a fishery

346
00:14:51,771 --> 00:14:54,971
that is worth more
than a billion dollars a year.

347
00:14:56,305 --> 00:14:57,405
Luckily for the lobster,

348
00:14:57,405 --> 00:14:59,905
they're harder to catch
than cod...

349
00:15:00,805 --> 00:15:03,005
...and they have
some remarkable traits,

350
00:15:03,005 --> 00:15:06,371
including living upwards
of 100 years

351
00:15:06,371 --> 00:15:10,005
and producing some 100,000 eggs.

352
00:15:12,271 --> 00:15:14,605
This is prime lobster habitat.

353
00:15:14,605 --> 00:15:17,205
These rock piles
create nooks and crannies

354
00:15:17,205 --> 00:15:19,371
for lobsters of every size
to hide.

355
00:15:22,971 --> 00:15:24,371
Protected from predators,

356
00:15:24,371 --> 00:15:25,771
this is where females let loose

357
00:15:25,771 --> 00:15:27,838
their ultimate
survival strategy...

358
00:15:29,205 --> 00:15:31,371
...thousands of eggs.

359
00:15:31,371 --> 00:15:34,505
Lobsters rely on the odds
of hatching a ton

360
00:15:34,505 --> 00:15:36,305
and hoping a couple make it...

361
00:15:38,038 --> 00:15:41,005
...but first,
mother has to build a shelter.

362
00:15:42,038 --> 00:15:43,138
She gets to work,

363
00:15:43,138 --> 00:15:44,871
using all ten of her legs...

364
00:15:47,338 --> 00:15:50,171
...including
those famous front claws.

365
00:15:52,571 --> 00:15:54,505
Her burrow is like a fort.

366
00:15:54,505 --> 00:15:57,538
It'll protect her
from currents and predators.

367
00:15:57,538 --> 00:16:01,771
Down here,
it's not meet the neighbors...

368
00:16:01,771 --> 00:16:04,038
it's eat the neighbors.

369
00:16:04,038 --> 00:16:05,238
Amazingly,

370
00:16:05,238 --> 00:16:07,971
she's already carried these eggs
around inside her body

371
00:16:07,971 --> 00:16:09,871
for 9 to 12 months.

372
00:16:11,205 --> 00:16:12,371
Once fertilized,

373
00:16:12,371 --> 00:16:13,938
the eggs are carried
on the outside

374
00:16:13,938 --> 00:16:16,005
for another 9 to 12 months,

375
00:16:16,005 --> 00:16:18,505
glued to
the mother's swimmerets--

376
00:16:18,505 --> 00:16:20,738
appendages
typically used for swimming.

377
00:16:22,105 --> 00:16:24,838
A deeper burrow
allows her to stand,

378
00:16:24,838 --> 00:16:25,971
stretch out,

379
00:16:25,971 --> 00:16:27,838
and fan her eggs.

380
00:16:27,838 --> 00:16:31,605
This increases the water flow
between the tightly-packed eggs,

381
00:16:31,605 --> 00:16:34,405
flushing them
with cold gulf water,

382
00:16:34,405 --> 00:16:36,005
rich in oxygen.

383
00:16:36,005 --> 00:16:39,238
After caring for them
for up to a year like this,

384
00:16:39,238 --> 00:16:40,905
they're fully formed

385
00:16:40,905 --> 00:16:42,971
and ready
to survive on their own.

386
00:16:45,571 --> 00:16:47,371
Stretched to her full length,

387
00:16:47,371 --> 00:16:49,938
she vigorously flaps
her swimmerets,

388
00:16:49,938 --> 00:16:52,438
shaking her babies
out of their sacs.

389
00:16:53,538 --> 00:16:55,638
Her final act as a mother...

390
00:16:56,871 --> 00:16:59,405
...releasing them
into the big ocean.

391
00:17:01,305 --> 00:17:02,771
Every year,

392
00:17:02,771 --> 00:17:04,638
hundreds of millions
of larval lobsters

393
00:17:04,638 --> 00:17:06,605
are born
into the Gulf of Maine.

394
00:17:06,605 --> 00:17:10,471
Very few will reach the same age
as their mother.

395
00:17:10,471 --> 00:17:13,305
Most won't even last
three months.

396
00:17:14,605 --> 00:17:15,871
Defenseless,

397
00:17:15,871 --> 00:17:17,238
they become food

398
00:17:17,238 --> 00:17:18,838
before they can get enough food.

399
00:17:21,005 --> 00:17:22,605
Some that do make it that long

400
00:17:22,605 --> 00:17:25,938
may help this team
predict the future of lobsters

401
00:17:25,938 --> 00:17:27,405
and their fishery.

402
00:17:28,471 --> 00:17:31,471
[Curt Brown] We want to know
where lobsters are settling.

403
00:17:31,471 --> 00:17:33,171
Are they settling further east,

404
00:17:33,171 --> 00:17:35,505
further west in shallow water,

405
00:17:35,505 --> 00:17:37,005
in deeper water?

406
00:17:37,005 --> 00:17:38,071
And the data
that we're collecting

407
00:17:38,071 --> 00:17:39,671
gives us
all of that information.

408
00:17:41,505 --> 00:17:43,738
We're gonna be hauling up
some heavy stuff today,

409
00:17:43,738 --> 00:17:46,505
so just have eyes on your feet

410
00:17:46,505 --> 00:17:47,638
and where the rope is

411
00:17:47,638 --> 00:17:49,071
at all times.

412
00:17:49,071 --> 00:17:50,038
-Sound good?
-Rock and roll.

413
00:17:50,038 --> 00:17:51,271
Off we go.

414
00:17:54,938 --> 00:17:57,105
[Narrator] Curt Brown
is a marine biologist

415
00:17:57,105 --> 00:17:58,571
and a commercial lobsterman.

416
00:17:58,571 --> 00:18:01,405
He's part of
a 35-year-long project

417
00:18:01,405 --> 00:18:04,038
called the "American Lobster
Settlement Index",

418
00:18:04,038 --> 00:18:06,705
which does exactly
what it sounds like--

419
00:18:06,705 --> 00:18:08,871
it tracks where lobsters settle,

420
00:18:08,871 --> 00:18:10,905
grow, and, eventually, mature

421
00:18:10,905 --> 00:18:13,338
into what can be caught
in the fishery.

422
00:18:13,338 --> 00:18:15,705
It's spearheaded by Rick Wahle.

423
00:18:15,705 --> 00:18:18,005
[Rick Wahle]
I started into this game

424
00:18:18,005 --> 00:18:19,538
back in 1985.

425
00:18:19,538 --> 00:18:22,005
There was
very little understanding

426
00:18:22,005 --> 00:18:23,805
of where their nursery
grounds were,

427
00:18:23,805 --> 00:18:25,738
where they
first settle.

428
00:18:25,738 --> 00:18:27,638
[Narrator] By counting
the lobsters that settle,

429
00:18:27,638 --> 00:18:28,771
the thought was

430
00:18:28,771 --> 00:18:30,005
that they could predict

431
00:18:30,005 --> 00:18:31,905
how big populations
would eventually be.

432
00:18:31,905 --> 00:18:33,838
[Wahle] The sort of Holy Grail

433
00:18:33,838 --> 00:18:36,205
was to have
an early-warning system,

434
00:18:36,205 --> 00:18:38,638
a forecasting tool
that we could use

435
00:18:38,638 --> 00:18:43,238
to follow a cohort
of newly-settled lobsters

436
00:18:43,238 --> 00:18:45,638
right into
the commercial harvest

437
00:18:45,638 --> 00:18:47,371
seven or eight years later.

438
00:18:47,371 --> 00:18:49,071
[Narrator]
The lobster fishery

439
00:18:49,071 --> 00:18:52,171
once spanned
North Carolina to Canada.

440
00:18:52,171 --> 00:18:53,405
Warming temperatures

441
00:18:53,405 --> 00:18:57,171
have all but destroyed
this fishery south of Cape Cod.

442
00:18:57,171 --> 00:18:59,505
Warmer waters have been linked
to shell disease

443
00:18:59,505 --> 00:19:01,471
and lower egg production.

444
00:19:03,571 --> 00:19:06,138
So taking the annual census
of baby lobsters

445
00:19:06,138 --> 00:19:08,105
has never been more important.

446
00:19:08,105 --> 00:19:10,738
[Wahle] Lobsters don't live
in a vacuum,

447
00:19:10,738 --> 00:19:12,071
and we're seeing that,

448
00:19:12,071 --> 00:19:14,771
right from the time
they settle to the sea bed,

449
00:19:14,771 --> 00:19:17,705
they're dealing with
all sorts of fishes,

450
00:19:17,705 --> 00:19:19,971
crabs, other invertebrates.

451
00:19:19,971 --> 00:19:22,838
Some of them are food
for other lobsters,

452
00:19:22,838 --> 00:19:24,638
and when they're really tiny,

453
00:19:24,638 --> 00:19:25,905
they're really vulnerable,

454
00:19:25,905 --> 00:19:28,805
so they have to find
a good hiding place

455
00:19:28,805 --> 00:19:30,305
as soon as they settle,

456
00:19:30,305 --> 00:19:33,405
and stay put until they outgrow
those predators.

457
00:19:33,405 --> 00:19:35,538
[Narrator]
The bid to build a crystal ball

458
00:19:35,538 --> 00:19:38,305
starts with this contraption--

459
00:19:38,305 --> 00:19:41,638
a modified lobster trap
baited with...

460
00:19:41,638 --> 00:19:42,571
rocks.

461
00:19:42,571 --> 00:19:43,771
[Andrew Goode] In order for us

462
00:19:43,771 --> 00:19:45,605
to get a sense
of what's down there,

463
00:19:45,605 --> 00:19:46,571
how much is down there,

464
00:19:46,571 --> 00:19:47,871
and their distribution,

465
00:19:47,871 --> 00:19:49,838
we put these collectors
down here,

466
00:19:49,838 --> 00:19:51,371
with their preferred habitat,

467
00:19:51,371 --> 00:19:52,371
bring them up,

468
00:19:52,371 --> 00:19:55,071
and then we're able
to peel this back

469
00:19:55,071 --> 00:19:57,205
and reveal the money within.

470
00:19:58,605 --> 00:20:01,138
[Narrator] Lobsters this size
make for good data,

471
00:20:01,138 --> 00:20:02,971
but aren't what the team
is looking for.

472
00:20:02,971 --> 00:20:05,938
They actually want
something smaller...

473
00:20:05,938 --> 00:20:06,938
much smaller.

474
00:20:09,371 --> 00:20:10,805
The lobsters
they're really after

475
00:20:10,805 --> 00:20:12,538
are only a few months old...

476
00:20:13,805 --> 00:20:16,205
...but surviving even that long
in the Gulf of Maine

477
00:20:16,205 --> 00:20:18,105
is a major feat.

478
00:20:19,071 --> 00:20:22,071
This larval lobster
is just hours old--

479
00:20:22,071 --> 00:20:23,805
about the size
of a grain of rice.

480
00:20:25,805 --> 00:20:28,638
No real claws yet,
with few to no defenses,

481
00:20:28,638 --> 00:20:30,538
it is naturally buoyant,

482
00:20:30,538 --> 00:20:32,871
and rises
to the top layer of the sea,

483
00:20:32,871 --> 00:20:34,705
joining other plankton,

484
00:20:34,705 --> 00:20:36,971
plants and animals
that drift with the wind,

485
00:20:36,971 --> 00:20:39,438
currents, and water.

486
00:20:39,438 --> 00:20:43,705
This planktonic chowder
is soup for the soul for many.

487
00:20:43,705 --> 00:20:46,771
Fish eat on the go,

488
00:20:46,771 --> 00:20:48,771
whales skim and filter,

489
00:20:48,771 --> 00:20:50,471
some birds bob...

490
00:20:50,471 --> 00:20:53,571
while others float and bob,

491
00:20:53,571 --> 00:20:55,071
but they all eat.

492
00:20:55,071 --> 00:20:58,038
No wonder why more than
99% of these guys

493
00:20:58,038 --> 00:20:59,305
don't make it out alive.

494
00:20:59,305 --> 00:21:03,805
So, this guy just settled
as a larva earlier this summer,

495
00:21:03,805 --> 00:21:06,005
so he is just a few months old,

496
00:21:06,005 --> 00:21:08,838
but it's the counts
of these guys

497
00:21:08,838 --> 00:21:09,971
that gives us

498
00:21:09,971 --> 00:21:13,205
the forecasting tool
for trends in the fisheries.

499
00:21:13,205 --> 00:21:14,405
[Narrator]
They pick this group to count

500
00:21:14,405 --> 00:21:15,838
because, given their size,

501
00:21:15,838 --> 00:21:17,971
these lobsters
were born this year.

502
00:21:17,971 --> 00:21:19,705
It's the one time in their lives

503
00:21:19,705 --> 00:21:21,871
when they can be aged
with accuracy.

504
00:21:21,871 --> 00:21:24,705
[Whale] So the numbers
on these young of year lobsters

505
00:21:24,705 --> 00:21:25,705
is really important.

506
00:21:25,705 --> 00:21:28,938
This is the 2023 year class.

507
00:21:30,671 --> 00:21:31,905
[Brown] Every year,

508
00:21:31,905 --> 00:21:33,371
Maine's coastal economy

509
00:21:33,371 --> 00:21:35,171
is driven by
the lobster fishery,

510
00:21:35,171 --> 00:21:39,005
so when we see baby lobsters
like this

511
00:21:39,005 --> 00:21:41,338
settling into our collectors,

512
00:21:41,338 --> 00:21:42,605
it's a very good sign for us.

513
00:21:42,605 --> 00:21:44,971
This is the future
of our fishery right here.

514
00:21:44,971 --> 00:21:47,038
Five to eight years from now,

515
00:21:47,038 --> 00:21:48,838
this is what we'll be catching,

516
00:21:48,838 --> 00:21:51,671
so when we know what's happening
year in and year out

517
00:21:51,671 --> 00:21:54,271
with these tiny little
one-month-old lobsters,

518
00:21:54,271 --> 00:21:55,505
it helps me make decisions

519
00:21:55,505 --> 00:21:58,505
about my business going forward
with this boat,

520
00:21:58,505 --> 00:21:59,371
with my traps,

521
00:21:59,371 --> 00:22:00,605
with my family,

522
00:22:00,605 --> 00:22:02,138
with the community.

523
00:22:02,138 --> 00:22:03,205
Without that data,

524
00:22:03,205 --> 00:22:05,038
you're kind of
making decisions blind,

525
00:22:05,038 --> 00:22:07,971
and that's really the importance
of this type of data right here.

526
00:22:09,071 --> 00:22:10,338
[Narrator] A lot of people
in the Gulf of Maine

527
00:22:10,338 --> 00:22:12,605
depend on lobsters
and this data.

528
00:22:12,605 --> 00:22:13,605
And it's not just

529
00:22:13,605 --> 00:22:15,571
the fishermen
and their families--

530
00:22:15,571 --> 00:22:16,771
it's all the boat builders,

531
00:22:16,771 --> 00:22:18,238
the trap makers, the docks,

532
00:22:18,238 --> 00:22:20,705
the bait, fuel,
and rope suppliers,

533
00:22:20,705 --> 00:22:22,238
the distributors,

534
00:22:22,238 --> 00:22:24,005
the restaurants,

535
00:22:24,005 --> 00:22:27,705
all the families
supported by this one species.

536
00:22:27,705 --> 00:22:31,105
That's quite a lot
riding on these lobster tails.

537
00:22:31,105 --> 00:22:32,771
But recently,

538
00:22:32,771 --> 00:22:36,171
warming water is making
their futures less predictable.

539
00:22:36,171 --> 00:22:37,371
[Goode] The Gulf of Maine

540
00:22:37,371 --> 00:22:40,605
is one of the fastest-warming
large marine ecosystems

541
00:22:40,605 --> 00:22:42,605
on the entire planet,

542
00:22:42,605 --> 00:22:47,438
and the trajectory of the
fishery is in question

543
00:22:47,438 --> 00:22:49,538
because as
the Gulf of Maine warms,

544
00:22:49,538 --> 00:22:50,771
near-shore habitats

545
00:22:50,771 --> 00:22:53,438
may become too warm
for settlement.

546
00:22:55,705 --> 00:22:57,171
[Narrator]
Shallow in-shore habitats

547
00:22:57,171 --> 00:23:00,905
are generally better nurseries
for baby lobsters,

548
00:23:00,905 --> 00:23:02,038
but expecting mothers

549
00:23:02,038 --> 00:23:04,071
are now going further offshore

550
00:23:04,071 --> 00:23:06,105
to hatch in cooler,
deeper waters.

551
00:23:06,105 --> 00:23:09,105
There's this phenomenon
called "climate velocity",

552
00:23:09,105 --> 00:23:10,538
where marine species

553
00:23:10,538 --> 00:23:13,605
will track
their optimal habitats--

554
00:23:13,605 --> 00:23:15,305
in this case, temperature.

555
00:23:15,305 --> 00:23:16,438
As the water warms,

556
00:23:16,438 --> 00:23:19,738
more southern species
will migrate northwards.

557
00:23:19,738 --> 00:23:22,771
[Wahle] The center of gravity
of lobsters

558
00:23:22,771 --> 00:23:25,271
is shifting northward,

559
00:23:25,271 --> 00:23:27,005
but not uniformly.

560
00:23:27,005 --> 00:23:30,571
[Narrator] So while
many lobsters are moving north,

561
00:23:30,571 --> 00:23:32,538
there is a curious twist
in this story.

562
00:23:32,538 --> 00:23:36,938
[Brown] What's very interesting
is here in Southern Maine,

563
00:23:36,938 --> 00:23:40,605
at depth below 40, 50, 60 feet,

564
00:23:40,605 --> 00:23:44,171
the water is actually colder
for most of the year

565
00:23:44,171 --> 00:23:45,305
here in Southern Maine

566
00:23:45,305 --> 00:23:47,238
than it is in Eastern Maine.

567
00:23:47,238 --> 00:23:49,971
[Narrator] Some lobsters
are moving further out to sea

568
00:23:49,971 --> 00:23:51,638
and down deeper.

569
00:23:51,638 --> 00:23:52,571
In Eastern Maine,

570
00:23:52,571 --> 00:23:53,905
you have
a more constant temperature

571
00:23:53,905 --> 00:23:55,038
top to bottom,

572
00:23:55,038 --> 00:23:57,805
but from May
till about this time of year,

573
00:23:57,805 --> 00:23:59,071
until storms really mix

574
00:23:59,071 --> 00:24:01,305
that warmer surface water
here down,

575
00:24:01,305 --> 00:24:03,871
bottom temperatures
in Southern or Western Maine

576
00:24:03,871 --> 00:24:05,071
are actually colder.

577
00:24:05,071 --> 00:24:07,505
Down at the bottom,
we're in the sweet spot.

578
00:24:07,505 --> 00:24:09,905
[Narrator]
As data comes in every year,

579
00:24:09,905 --> 00:24:11,138
the goal is to see

580
00:24:11,138 --> 00:24:12,538
how changes in the gulf

581
00:24:12,538 --> 00:24:15,038
are affecting the way
lobsters behave

582
00:24:15,038 --> 00:24:16,671
and to remove uncertainty

583
00:24:16,671 --> 00:24:17,871
for the fishery

584
00:24:17,871 --> 00:24:20,038
and the people who depend on it.

585
00:24:20,038 --> 00:24:24,871
[♪♪♪♪♪]

586
00:24:24,871 --> 00:24:28,405
While the lobster fishery
is still relatively healthy,

587
00:24:28,405 --> 00:24:30,538
families who have worked
other fisheries

588
00:24:30,538 --> 00:24:32,638
are seeing concerning changes...

589
00:24:33,771 --> 00:24:36,238
...families like the Coxes.

590
00:24:38,505 --> 00:24:39,871
As the tide rolls out...

591
00:24:39,871 --> 00:24:41,005
[Johnny Cox]
I don't roll them up.

592
00:24:41,005 --> 00:24:42,771
[Narrator]
...Johnny Cox heads to work.

593
00:24:42,771 --> 00:24:45,205
[Johnny Cox] Maybe I should
have washed them out.

594
00:24:45,205 --> 00:24:46,471
I think I'm ready.

595
00:24:46,471 --> 00:24:47,638
[laughs]

596
00:24:47,638 --> 00:24:50,338
[Narrator] Johnny's a clammer
in Jonesboro, Maine.

597
00:24:50,338 --> 00:24:51,538
He and his son, Andrew,

598
00:24:51,538 --> 00:24:54,005
spend every day they can
in these waters.

599
00:24:56,671 --> 00:24:57,971
[Andrew Cox]
Do you want to get in

600
00:24:57,971 --> 00:24:59,805
and I'll push you out?

601
00:24:59,805 --> 00:25:01,238
[Johnny Cox] No, I can get it.

602
00:25:01,238 --> 00:25:02,805
[Andrew Cox] All right.

603
00:25:04,738 --> 00:25:06,938
[Johnny Cox] All right.
Pray, pray, pray it starts.

604
00:25:06,938 --> 00:25:10,238
[starter chugging,
purring to life]

605
00:25:12,971 --> 00:25:14,338
[Andrew Cox]
Just give it to her.

606
00:25:16,071 --> 00:25:17,571
There we go.
Need for speed.

607
00:25:17,571 --> 00:25:19,805
[Narrator] Andrew started
in the family business

608
00:25:19,805 --> 00:25:21,771
before he was in kindergarten.

609
00:25:21,771 --> 00:25:24,305
I would say,
probably five, four,

610
00:25:24,305 --> 00:25:26,071
following him around.

611
00:25:26,071 --> 00:25:27,438
He used to leave me clams.

612
00:25:27,438 --> 00:25:28,938
I would be between his legs,

613
00:25:28,938 --> 00:25:30,471
and he would leave me
a clam or two,

614
00:25:30,471 --> 00:25:31,771
and I would put it
in my little roller,

615
00:25:31,771 --> 00:25:33,538
and my roller was, like, tiny.

616
00:25:33,538 --> 00:25:35,738
Then all the mud fights
and all that.

617
00:25:35,738 --> 00:25:37,471
Good times.

618
00:25:37,471 --> 00:25:38,571
Good memories.

619
00:25:40,205 --> 00:25:41,471
[Narrator] It's low tide

620
00:25:41,471 --> 00:25:44,405
and they're heading to a mudflat
that may hold some promise.

621
00:25:47,905 --> 00:25:49,238
[Johnny Cox] Clam holes!

622
00:25:49,238 --> 00:25:50,905
Oh, just right here.

623
00:25:50,905 --> 00:25:52,438
Put the anchor out.

624
00:25:53,438 --> 00:25:55,138
[Narrator] About the size
of a thumbprint,

625
00:25:55,138 --> 00:25:56,371
a clam hole is formed

626
00:25:56,371 --> 00:25:59,105
when a clam sticks its neck out
to breathe and eat.

627
00:25:59,105 --> 00:26:01,771
Johnny's an expert
at finding them--

628
00:26:01,771 --> 00:26:03,871
he's been a clammer
for most of his life.

629
00:26:05,605 --> 00:26:07,905
[Johnny Cox]
50 some-odd years, or more.

630
00:26:07,905 --> 00:26:09,371
Too long!

631
00:26:09,371 --> 00:26:10,538
[laughs]

632
00:26:10,538 --> 00:26:11,871
Time to go to work.

633
00:26:13,471 --> 00:26:15,171
The kids
that I went to school with,

634
00:26:15,171 --> 00:26:16,871
they didn't have this advantage.

635
00:26:16,871 --> 00:26:20,038
Their job was working for A&P,

636
00:26:20,038 --> 00:26:21,505
or pumping gas,

637
00:26:21,505 --> 00:26:23,838
for a dollar and a quarter
an hour,

638
00:26:23,838 --> 00:26:24,838
and here I had just--

639
00:26:24,838 --> 00:26:26,971
in three hours,
made 50 bucks.

640
00:26:26,971 --> 00:26:30,138
And back then,
$50 was big money.

641
00:26:30,138 --> 00:26:32,538
[Narrator] Today,
the soft-shell clam fishery

642
00:26:32,538 --> 00:26:35,171
is one of the most lucrative
in Maine,

643
00:26:35,171 --> 00:26:37,105
just behind lobsters
and baby eels.

644
00:26:37,105 --> 00:26:38,538
[Andrew Cox] Oh, there's one.

645
00:26:39,771 --> 00:26:40,738
[Narrator]
Whether pulling by hand,

646
00:26:40,738 --> 00:26:42,338
or digging with a rake,

647
00:26:42,338 --> 00:26:45,971
Johnny and Andrew
can make up to $2000 a day.

648
00:26:45,971 --> 00:26:48,405
[Andrew Cox]
Jonesboro has installed

649
00:26:48,405 --> 00:26:52,038
a 250-pound limit per tide.

650
00:26:52,038 --> 00:26:54,105
Usually, I try to aim
for 200 pounds,

651
00:26:54,105 --> 00:26:56,538
but the price
is always up and down,

652
00:26:56,538 --> 00:27:00,371
so, right now,
it's two bucks per pound.

653
00:27:00,371 --> 00:27:02,871
During the summers,
it can peak up to $4.00.

654
00:27:02,871 --> 00:27:04,605
You can do two tides a day.

655
00:27:04,605 --> 00:27:05,705
You do the math.

656
00:27:05,705 --> 00:27:07,071
It adds up!

657
00:27:07,071 --> 00:27:08,171
[Johnny Cox] I mean,

658
00:27:08,171 --> 00:27:09,438
if you want
to come down here and push,

659
00:27:09,438 --> 00:27:11,605
then you can come home
with a pretty good paycheck.

660
00:27:11,605 --> 00:27:14,005
[Narrator]
As good as business is,

661
00:27:14,005 --> 00:27:17,005
these mudflats,
once full of eelgrass and algae,

662
00:27:17,005 --> 00:27:19,238
aren't nearly as productive
as they used to be.

663
00:27:19,238 --> 00:27:22,238
[Johnny Cox] In the early '70s,
there was clams everywhere.

664
00:27:22,238 --> 00:27:25,105
I mean, from here on in,

665
00:27:25,105 --> 00:27:27,605
back in the late '70s,

666
00:27:27,605 --> 00:27:29,105
up to the early '80s,

667
00:27:29,105 --> 00:27:30,405
it would be all green.

668
00:27:30,405 --> 00:27:32,038
I mean, it ain't there now.

669
00:27:32,038 --> 00:27:33,238
And I've questioned that--

670
00:27:33,238 --> 00:27:34,405
what's changed?

671
00:27:34,405 --> 00:27:35,405
Green crabs.

672
00:27:38,305 --> 00:27:40,071
[Narrator] Green crabs
are an invasive species

673
00:27:40,071 --> 00:27:42,071
found along
the Gulf of Maine's coast.

674
00:27:44,205 --> 00:27:46,838
As they burrow for homes
and look for food,

675
00:27:46,838 --> 00:27:49,238
they cut up the roots
of surrounding vegetation,

676
00:27:49,238 --> 00:27:52,438
destroying vital habitat
for many other species...

677
00:27:55,371 --> 00:27:57,605
...and they've landed on
these shores in hordes.

678
00:27:58,938 --> 00:28:00,005
[Johnny Cox] I mean,

679
00:28:00,005 --> 00:28:01,605
we're not talking
three or four green crabs.

680
00:28:01,605 --> 00:28:03,405
We're talking thousands.

681
00:28:03,405 --> 00:28:06,171
So, in order for them
to survive,

682
00:28:06,171 --> 00:28:07,171
they're eating something.

683
00:28:08,438 --> 00:28:10,971
[Narrator]
And clams are an easy target.

684
00:28:10,971 --> 00:28:13,171
[Andrew Cox] That right there--
it's neck.

685
00:28:13,171 --> 00:28:15,305
That can reach
all the way up to my wrist.

686
00:28:15,305 --> 00:28:17,105
And that's where
some good meat is.

687
00:28:17,105 --> 00:28:18,338
And that's their lifeline.

688
00:28:18,338 --> 00:28:20,905
If that gets...

689
00:28:20,905 --> 00:28:22,838
well, there goes their lifeline,

690
00:28:22,838 --> 00:28:23,905
they can't eat,

691
00:28:23,905 --> 00:28:25,571
they can't reproduce,

692
00:28:25,571 --> 00:28:27,071
and they die in the mud.

693
00:28:27,071 --> 00:28:28,638
I'm not saying any names.

694
00:28:28,638 --> 00:28:30,738
Green crabs, maybe, you know,

695
00:28:30,738 --> 00:28:33,805
they come across and snip-snip.

696
00:28:33,805 --> 00:28:34,771
That's a free snack for them.

697
00:28:36,338 --> 00:28:38,171
So, yeah, I am kind of worried
about the future

698
00:28:38,171 --> 00:28:41,371
because the resource
is actually declining.

699
00:28:42,838 --> 00:28:44,538
[Narrator] Andrew is right
to be concerned.

700
00:28:44,538 --> 00:28:46,271
Like locusts,

701
00:28:46,271 --> 00:28:49,071
green crabs have descended
on this coastline,

702
00:28:49,071 --> 00:28:50,905
destroying everything
in their path.

703
00:28:52,671 --> 00:28:54,371
For decades,
Maine's frigid winters

704
00:28:54,371 --> 00:28:57,438
kept invasive species
like green crabs at bay...

705
00:28:58,805 --> 00:28:59,971
...but in recent years,

706
00:28:59,971 --> 00:29:02,705
rising ocean temperatures
have kicked the door open,

707
00:29:02,705 --> 00:29:05,238
and their numbers
have taken off.

708
00:29:07,305 --> 00:29:08,571
Picture a sci-fi movie

709
00:29:08,571 --> 00:29:12,171
in which aliens replicate
by the hundreds.

710
00:29:12,171 --> 00:29:13,771
Multiply that by a hundred,

711
00:29:13,771 --> 00:29:15,305
and you're getting an idea

712
00:29:15,305 --> 00:29:17,905
of what's taking over
the Gulf of Maine--

713
00:29:17,905 --> 00:29:19,971
green crabs.

714
00:29:21,238 --> 00:29:22,471
On the surface,

715
00:29:22,471 --> 00:29:25,338
they don't seem too different
from other crabs.

716
00:29:25,338 --> 00:29:26,371
Eight walking legs

717
00:29:26,371 --> 00:29:28,471
help them scamper
across the sea floor.

718
00:29:29,405 --> 00:29:32,571
Large claws serve as
both sword and fork.

719
00:29:33,905 --> 00:29:36,671
Antennae help them navigate
and process their world,

720
00:29:36,671 --> 00:29:39,038
mainly answering
three questions--

721
00:29:39,038 --> 00:29:40,371
Am I safe?

722
00:29:40,371 --> 00:29:42,871
Are you a good
reproductive partner?

723
00:29:42,871 --> 00:29:44,571
And can I eat you?

724
00:29:46,538 --> 00:29:48,138
One thing that sets
green crabs apart

725
00:29:48,138 --> 00:29:49,638
is how aggressive they are.

726
00:29:49,638 --> 00:29:53,038
They will crush and eat
anything in their path--

727
00:29:53,038 --> 00:29:56,005
from worms
to barnacles to snails.

728
00:29:57,438 --> 00:29:59,905
But what they really like
to feast on?

729
00:29:59,905 --> 00:30:01,238
Clams.

730
00:30:02,238 --> 00:30:03,538
To protect itself,

731
00:30:03,538 --> 00:30:06,571
this clam has burrowed
deep into the sand.

732
00:30:06,571 --> 00:30:09,805
It inhales water
through its neck siphon

733
00:30:09,805 --> 00:30:11,671
to breathe and to eat.

734
00:30:12,871 --> 00:30:14,205
So, in essence,

735
00:30:14,205 --> 00:30:16,838
this clam needs to stick
its neck out to survive...

736
00:30:17,871 --> 00:30:20,571
...and this green crab
knows how to go for the jugular.

737
00:30:22,238 --> 00:30:24,905
Sensing danger,
the clam ducks back under.

738
00:30:26,471 --> 00:30:29,705
But crabs have
a remarkable feature--

739
00:30:29,705 --> 00:30:32,071
little hairs across
their bodies and legs

740
00:30:32,071 --> 00:30:33,838
allow them to sense their prey.

741
00:30:35,605 --> 00:30:38,571
And ten legs
are no match for a young clam.

742
00:30:41,071 --> 00:30:45,571
A single crab can eat up to
40 half-inch clams in a day.

743
00:30:47,005 --> 00:30:48,138
Left unchecked,

744
00:30:48,138 --> 00:30:49,571
green crabs could obliterate

745
00:30:49,571 --> 00:30:51,538
the clamming industry
as we know it...

746
00:30:54,638 --> 00:30:58,571
...but an innovative experiment
hopes to stop them.

747
00:31:01,471 --> 00:31:03,071
Brian Altvater Senior

748
00:31:03,071 --> 00:31:05,438
is a member
of the Passamaquoddy Tribe

749
00:31:05,438 --> 00:31:07,705
and is committed to healing
the environment

750
00:31:07,705 --> 00:31:09,071
that's brought so much to him,

751
00:31:09,071 --> 00:31:10,438
his family,

752
00:31:10,438 --> 00:31:11,905
and his ancestors.

753
00:31:12,805 --> 00:31:14,971
Approximately 14,000 years,

754
00:31:14,971 --> 00:31:16,971
we've been in this vicinity,

755
00:31:16,971 --> 00:31:18,038
and a lot of people,

756
00:31:18,038 --> 00:31:19,738
like, a lot of the fishermen,

757
00:31:19,738 --> 00:31:20,738
they go out there,

758
00:31:20,738 --> 00:31:22,138
like myself,

759
00:31:22,138 --> 00:31:23,405
whether it's clams,

760
00:31:23,405 --> 00:31:24,605
or fish,

761
00:31:24,605 --> 00:31:25,905
what have you,

762
00:31:25,905 --> 00:31:27,538
it's all for sustenance.

763
00:31:27,538 --> 00:31:31,305
Everyone I knew growing up
ate clams and fish.

764
00:31:31,305 --> 00:31:34,038
You know, so...

765
00:31:34,038 --> 00:31:36,038
yeah, clams are very important.

766
00:31:36,038 --> 00:31:37,571
And...

767
00:31:37,571 --> 00:31:38,738
like, you know,

768
00:31:38,738 --> 00:31:42,071
if you went up North
to visit some of the Micmacs,

769
00:31:42,071 --> 00:31:43,938
or some of the Maliseet,

770
00:31:43,938 --> 00:31:46,905
I mean, the first thing they say
is bring up some clams,

771
00:31:46,905 --> 00:31:48,505
bring up some scallops,
you know,

772
00:31:48,505 --> 00:31:49,471
and stuff like that,

773
00:31:49,471 --> 00:31:50,905
'cause they love that stuff,
you know?

774
00:31:50,905 --> 00:31:52,371
And so we say, yeah,

775
00:31:52,371 --> 00:31:54,538
give us a few potatoes
and we'll have a deal.

776
00:31:56,271 --> 00:31:58,205
[Narrator]
These flats in Sipayik, Maine

777
00:31:58,205 --> 00:32:01,538
have always provided
for Brian and his community...

778
00:32:01,538 --> 00:32:03,338
until recently.

779
00:32:03,338 --> 00:32:05,771
[Altvater] I used to talk
to a lot of the elders,

780
00:32:05,771 --> 00:32:07,038
and they used to tell me

781
00:32:07,038 --> 00:32:09,671
about the abundance
of fish in the area,

782
00:32:09,671 --> 00:32:11,438
and shellfish,

783
00:32:11,438 --> 00:32:12,905
and that's all changed.

784
00:32:12,905 --> 00:32:15,171
I mean, like, today,
we have the green crab.

785
00:32:15,171 --> 00:32:17,971
It's something
I never experienced growing up.

786
00:32:17,971 --> 00:32:20,038
I never knew
what a green crab was

787
00:32:20,038 --> 00:32:21,905
until just a few years ago.

788
00:32:21,905 --> 00:32:23,605
They have a voracious appetite,

789
00:32:23,605 --> 00:32:26,038
and the environment
isn't used to having them,

790
00:32:26,038 --> 00:32:28,171
so a lot
of the indigenous species,

791
00:32:28,171 --> 00:32:31,638
you know, don't have
a mechanism to cope with them.

792
00:32:31,638 --> 00:32:32,838
[Narrator] Searching for ways

793
00:32:32,838 --> 00:32:34,771
to counter
the green crab invasion

794
00:32:34,771 --> 00:32:37,838
led to the idea of growing clams
inside these boxes.

795
00:32:37,838 --> 00:32:39,405
[Altvater] You know,
it's just like any other garden,

796
00:32:39,405 --> 00:32:42,438
except it's clams
down the mud flats.

797
00:32:42,438 --> 00:32:44,638
[Narrator] It's a collaboration
with Brian Beal,

798
00:32:44,638 --> 00:32:48,105
a professor of Marine Ecology
at the University of Maine.

799
00:32:48,105 --> 00:32:50,671
[Brian Beal]
This experiment is all designed

800
00:32:50,671 --> 00:32:51,938
to take a look

801
00:32:51,938 --> 00:32:54,871
at the effects of green crabs
on soft-shell clams.

802
00:32:54,871 --> 00:32:56,205
So, the one-millimeter crabs

803
00:32:56,205 --> 00:33:00,371
are eating clams that are a
half a millimeter or smaller,

804
00:33:00,371 --> 00:33:04,105
and there's billions
of tick-size green crabs

805
00:33:04,105 --> 00:33:07,505
that are eating
trillions of soft-shell clams.

806
00:33:07,505 --> 00:33:08,538
[Narrator] Every spring,

807
00:33:08,538 --> 00:33:10,871
trillions of baby clams
and green crabs

808
00:33:10,871 --> 00:33:13,438
are floating
in the Gulf of Maine,

809
00:33:13,438 --> 00:33:14,671
and, once big enough,

810
00:33:14,671 --> 00:33:17,071
drop down
and settle on the mudflats.

811
00:33:17,071 --> 00:33:20,571
The problem is,
the crabs have a size advantage.

812
00:33:22,038 --> 00:33:24,105
So, the basic idea
of this nursery

813
00:33:24,105 --> 00:33:26,371
is to plant thousands
of baby clams

814
00:33:26,371 --> 00:33:28,738
in protective boxes.

815
00:33:28,738 --> 00:33:31,838
The tight mesh lids
keep them safe from green crabs

816
00:33:31,838 --> 00:33:34,671
and give them
a few months' head start.

817
00:33:34,671 --> 00:33:36,705
Once a clam
gets to a certain size,

818
00:33:36,705 --> 00:33:39,871
it's far less vulnerable
to being eaten by a green crab.

819
00:33:39,871 --> 00:33:42,171
Timing is everything.

820
00:33:42,171 --> 00:33:43,571
There's always a race

821
00:33:43,571 --> 00:33:47,105
between when clams settle
versus when green crabs settle.

822
00:33:47,105 --> 00:33:49,371
Green crabs are settling
just about a month,

823
00:33:49,371 --> 00:33:50,605
typically, in most places,

824
00:33:50,605 --> 00:33:52,438
after the clams settle.

825
00:33:52,438 --> 00:33:55,771
So, this is what we're calling
an "intertidal clam nursery".

826
00:33:57,005 --> 00:33:58,838
What are we doing, Shawnee?
We all set?

827
00:33:58,838 --> 00:34:00,171
[Shawnee] Yeah.

828
00:34:00,171 --> 00:34:02,305
[Narrator]
With nursery boxes in tow,

829
00:34:02,305 --> 00:34:04,938
the team follows
the receding tide into the mud.

830
00:34:07,571 --> 00:34:10,371
So what's the trick
to walking out here, Dada?

831
00:34:10,371 --> 00:34:13,738
Like your cross-country ski
to push your foot forward.

832
00:34:13,738 --> 00:34:15,305
[Narrator]
They now have to set out

833
00:34:15,305 --> 00:34:17,638
and secure 112 boxes,

834
00:34:17,638 --> 00:34:20,805
filled with nearly
37,000 baby clams,

835
00:34:20,805 --> 00:34:23,805
and hope a cold winter
keeps crab numbers down.

836
00:34:23,805 --> 00:34:26,071
[Brian Beal] There's only
one thing in this state

837
00:34:26,071 --> 00:34:28,638
that regulates
green crab populations

838
00:34:28,638 --> 00:34:32,571
and that's
the temperature of the water.

839
00:34:32,571 --> 00:34:34,438
When water temperatures
are cold

840
00:34:34,438 --> 00:34:36,338
and we have lots of ice
in the wintertime,

841
00:34:36,338 --> 00:34:37,771
you can't find a green crab,

842
00:34:37,771 --> 00:34:39,005
and that's
when there's more clams

843
00:34:39,005 --> 00:34:40,938
than you know what to do with.

844
00:34:40,938 --> 00:34:42,405
When water temperatures increase

845
00:34:42,405 --> 00:34:44,038
to the point
that they are at now,

846
00:34:44,038 --> 00:34:45,105
it's hard to find a clam,

847
00:34:45,105 --> 00:34:47,771
but you can find
many green crabs.

848
00:34:47,771 --> 00:34:50,505
We're just in a place,
due to climate change,

849
00:34:50,505 --> 00:34:53,471
where the clamming industry
is in jeopardy.

850
00:34:53,471 --> 00:34:55,171
If we don't do anything else,

851
00:34:55,171 --> 00:34:56,138
what's going to happen

852
00:34:56,138 --> 00:34:57,738
is that green crab populations

853
00:34:57,738 --> 00:35:00,438
are going to continue
to grow and increase,

854
00:35:00,438 --> 00:35:02,538
and we can probably say so long

855
00:35:02,538 --> 00:35:05,405
to the soft-shell clam industry
as we know it.

856
00:35:06,505 --> 00:35:07,471
[Narrator]
Experiments like this

857
00:35:07,471 --> 00:35:08,638
may be the one of the only ways

858
00:35:08,638 --> 00:35:10,338
to preserve the fishery

859
00:35:10,338 --> 00:35:11,905
and a way of life...

860
00:35:11,905 --> 00:35:13,838
one mud flat at a time.

861
00:35:15,171 --> 00:35:16,305
[Brian Beal]
This is a protein source.

862
00:35:16,305 --> 00:35:17,505
This is a food.

863
00:35:17,505 --> 00:35:20,338
It's also a livelihood,
it's also a culture,

864
00:35:20,338 --> 00:35:21,338
so people should care

865
00:35:21,338 --> 00:35:22,738
because we would really like

866
00:35:22,738 --> 00:35:24,405
to have these mudflats

867
00:35:24,405 --> 00:35:26,971
contribute to the economy
of these coastal communities

868
00:35:26,971 --> 00:35:28,738
like they did way back when.

869
00:35:31,171 --> 00:35:32,905
[Narrator]
In a few months' time,

870
00:35:32,905 --> 00:35:34,038
the team will know

871
00:35:34,038 --> 00:35:36,171
if these baby clams
have a future.

872
00:35:37,505 --> 00:35:38,971
Meanwhile, warming water

873
00:35:38,971 --> 00:35:40,538
has changed the trajectory

874
00:35:40,538 --> 00:35:42,738
of almost all species
in the Gulf of Maine...

875
00:35:43,738 --> 00:35:45,505
...including a little bird

876
00:35:45,505 --> 00:35:46,905
that tells us a lot

877
00:35:46,905 --> 00:35:49,038
about the big ocean
beyond the gulf.

878
00:35:52,205 --> 00:35:54,738
About six miles
off the coast of New Hampshire

879
00:35:54,738 --> 00:35:56,705
lie White and Seavey Islands.

880
00:35:56,705 --> 00:35:58,671
There's little freshwater,

881
00:35:58,671 --> 00:36:00,305
not much vegetation,

882
00:36:00,305 --> 00:36:01,738
and hardly any food.

883
00:36:02,938 --> 00:36:05,471
Other than a handful
of scientists in the summer,

884
00:36:05,471 --> 00:36:07,905
no humans call this home.

885
00:36:07,905 --> 00:36:09,938
Even the lighthouse
is automated.

886
00:36:11,071 --> 00:36:13,038
It's basically
a big pile of rocks

887
00:36:13,038 --> 00:36:14,405
and some bushes...

888
00:36:15,405 --> 00:36:17,538
...the perfect summer home
for terns.

889
00:36:18,938 --> 00:36:20,538
At around 6,000 birds,

890
00:36:20,538 --> 00:36:23,238
it's the largest tern colony
in the Gulf of Maine.

891
00:36:25,238 --> 00:36:26,705
About a week old,

892
00:36:26,705 --> 00:36:28,038
this fragile tern chick

893
00:36:28,038 --> 00:36:29,638
weighs less
than a chicken nugget

894
00:36:29,638 --> 00:36:31,638
and is just
a couple of inches tall.

895
00:36:36,438 --> 00:36:39,771
A spotted down coat
keeps it warm and camouflaged.

896
00:36:41,271 --> 00:36:42,471
In about three weeks,

897
00:36:42,471 --> 00:36:44,471
she'll transform
from this ball of fluff

898
00:36:44,471 --> 00:36:46,205
into a flying bird.

899
00:36:47,705 --> 00:36:49,938
To get there,
she really needs one thing...

900
00:36:51,005 --> 00:36:52,105
...fish.

901
00:36:53,271 --> 00:36:54,971
Terns are migratory birds

902
00:36:54,971 --> 00:36:57,205
and travel thousands of miles
every year

903
00:36:57,205 --> 00:36:59,438
to return
to their nesting sites.

904
00:37:04,305 --> 00:37:06,971
Almost 90% of the birds
in the colony were born here.

905
00:37:08,938 --> 00:37:12,238
It's a network,
but it's not very social,

906
00:37:12,238 --> 00:37:15,805
because everyone in town
eats a lot of the same fish...

907
00:37:17,438 --> 00:37:20,371
...and every fish
that comes back is fair game.

908
00:37:20,371 --> 00:37:21,971
Fish get stolen...

909
00:37:24,005 --> 00:37:25,438
...stolen back.

910
00:37:26,671 --> 00:37:28,371
Adults steal from chicks...

911
00:37:31,671 --> 00:37:33,438
...and chicks learn from adults.

912
00:37:38,305 --> 00:37:41,171
In this community,
no one's passive-aggressive...

913
00:37:42,171 --> 00:37:44,005
...just aggressive.

914
00:37:49,671 --> 00:37:52,538
These terns have adapted
over millions of years

915
00:37:52,538 --> 00:37:55,771
to eat slender-bodied fish
like sandlance and herring.

916
00:37:57,838 --> 00:37:59,771
Just the right size
for a chick's beak.

917
00:38:06,738 --> 00:38:09,371
But as the Gulf of Maine's
waters have warmed,

918
00:38:09,371 --> 00:38:12,171
southern fish species
have migrated north,

919
00:38:12,171 --> 00:38:13,371
like butterfish--

920
00:38:13,371 --> 00:38:15,371
a perfectly good
source of protein,

921
00:38:15,371 --> 00:38:17,938
but the wrong shape and size.

922
00:38:27,871 --> 00:38:30,071
This chick is ravenous.

923
00:38:32,071 --> 00:38:35,905
If its parents can't catch it
the right fish,

924
00:38:35,905 --> 00:38:37,438
it could end up

925
00:38:37,438 --> 00:38:41,038
just another statistic
in Liz Craig's data.

926
00:38:43,071 --> 00:38:44,671
[Elizabeth Craig]
Our research on this island

927
00:38:44,671 --> 00:38:46,538
goes back 25 years,

928
00:38:46,538 --> 00:38:47,705
and over that period,

929
00:38:47,705 --> 00:38:49,805
we've seen
ocean temperatures increase

930
00:38:49,805 --> 00:38:51,438
and we've also seen changes

931
00:38:51,438 --> 00:38:55,105
in the proportion of
different fish over that time,

932
00:38:55,105 --> 00:38:57,038
and that includes butterfish,

933
00:38:57,038 --> 00:38:58,538
which is a warmer-water fish

934
00:38:58,538 --> 00:39:00,105
that has been
in the Gulf of Maine

935
00:39:00,105 --> 00:39:02,005
throughout this whole period

936
00:39:02,005 --> 00:39:03,605
but is starting to increase

937
00:39:03,605 --> 00:39:05,971
as the waters here
become warmer.

938
00:39:05,971 --> 00:39:07,471
So, the more butterfish

939
00:39:07,471 --> 00:39:09,471
the birds bring back
to feed their chicks,

940
00:39:09,471 --> 00:39:10,971
the slower the chicks grow

941
00:39:10,971 --> 00:39:15,171
because they're really not able
to swallow most of those fish.

942
00:39:15,171 --> 00:39:17,305
So we see that
as a real indicator

943
00:39:17,305 --> 00:39:18,838
of how warming ocean

944
00:39:18,838 --> 00:39:19,971
and how climate change

945
00:39:19,971 --> 00:39:22,505
is specifically impacting
these birds.

946
00:39:22,505 --> 00:39:23,971
[Narrator] Not only that,

947
00:39:23,971 --> 00:39:25,271
terns also tell us

948
00:39:25,271 --> 00:39:27,638
how the planet is changing
for all of us.

949
00:39:29,038 --> 00:39:32,571
[Craig] They're really valuable
to us as society

950
00:39:32,571 --> 00:39:34,771
by telling us
what's going on with our oceans.

951
00:39:34,771 --> 00:39:37,071
They are experiencing
all the same environment

952
00:39:37,071 --> 00:39:38,438
that we rely on.

953
00:39:38,438 --> 00:39:39,605
They're eating the same fish,

954
00:39:39,605 --> 00:39:41,305
they're swimming
in the same waters.

955
00:39:41,305 --> 00:39:42,905
So, yes, it's important

956
00:39:42,905 --> 00:39:44,905
that we do this work
to protect the birds,

957
00:39:44,905 --> 00:39:45,938
but what we're learning

958
00:39:45,938 --> 00:39:47,871
really tells us
about our own lives.

959
00:39:50,138 --> 00:39:52,005
[Narrator]
Getting data to track them

960
00:39:52,005 --> 00:39:53,738
and keep tabs on their growth

961
00:39:53,738 --> 00:39:54,771
requires banding

962
00:39:54,771 --> 00:39:58,205
many of the newborns
that hatch every summer.

963
00:39:58,205 --> 00:39:59,338
The team will band

964
00:39:59,338 --> 00:40:01,305
a total of 300 chicks
this season.

965
00:40:01,305 --> 00:40:03,138
[Craig] All right.

966
00:40:03,138 --> 00:40:05,471
The band is 1392.

967
00:40:05,471 --> 00:40:07,138
[Orena] 1392.

968
00:40:07,138 --> 00:40:09,105
[Craig] 63187.

969
00:40:09,105 --> 00:40:10,805
[Orena] 63187.

970
00:40:10,805 --> 00:40:13,438
So the wing is 55.

971
00:40:13,438 --> 00:40:14,671
[Willow] 55?

972
00:40:14,671 --> 00:40:16,671
[Orena] And the weight...

973
00:40:16,671 --> 00:40:18,738
[Craig] 65.

974
00:40:18,738 --> 00:40:20,171
[Willow] Oh, nice.

975
00:40:20,171 --> 00:40:21,905
[Orena] That's a good weight.

976
00:40:24,271 --> 00:40:25,805
[Craig]
So what we're looking at here,

977
00:40:25,805 --> 00:40:26,771
these--

978
00:40:26,771 --> 00:40:28,005
what we call "pin feathers"--

979
00:40:28,005 --> 00:40:30,338
they're going to turn into
the flight feathers of the bird.

980
00:40:30,338 --> 00:40:31,771
We're looking at
the length of these

981
00:40:31,771 --> 00:40:33,738
and also
their developmental stage

982
00:40:33,738 --> 00:40:35,771
in order to figure out
how old this bird is.

983
00:40:35,771 --> 00:40:37,071
So, as a group,

984
00:40:37,071 --> 00:40:39,338
we've decided
it's probably about 10 days old.

985
00:40:39,338 --> 00:40:40,438
It's a good bird.

986
00:40:40,438 --> 00:40:42,438
I'm very pleasantly surprised.

987
00:40:42,438 --> 00:40:44,005
[Orena] It's a healthy bird.

988
00:40:44,005 --> 00:40:45,038
[Narrator] It's a surprise

989
00:40:45,038 --> 00:40:46,305
because they're finding

990
00:40:46,305 --> 00:40:49,338
that many of the newborns
aren't doing as well...

991
00:40:49,338 --> 00:40:51,238
because the catch is changing.

992
00:40:51,238 --> 00:40:52,971
[Orena]
So, this is a butterfish.

993
00:40:52,971 --> 00:40:55,071
It's a lot wider than a herring.

994
00:40:55,071 --> 00:40:56,638
So, from the surface,

995
00:40:56,638 --> 00:41:00,105
if you see it
in the water like this,

996
00:41:00,105 --> 00:41:02,005
it might look like
a normal fish,

997
00:41:02,005 --> 00:41:03,471
but then when an adult
picks it up,

998
00:41:03,471 --> 00:41:05,071
it turns out to be really wide,

999
00:41:05,071 --> 00:41:07,405
and then the chick
has trouble swallowing it.

1000
00:41:07,405 --> 00:41:10,038
[Narrator] Liz and her team
can also learn from these birds

1001
00:41:10,038 --> 00:41:12,005
without seeing them.

1002
00:41:12,005 --> 00:41:14,371
They use tiny GPS tags

1003
00:41:14,371 --> 00:41:16,405
to track the birds
on their migrations.

1004
00:41:17,838 --> 00:41:20,205
The data reveals
a remarkable journey,

1005
00:41:20,205 --> 00:41:21,871
adding to the bigger picture

1006
00:41:21,871 --> 00:41:24,038
here in the Gulf of Maine
and beyond.

1007
00:41:26,071 --> 00:41:27,671
After departing
the Isles of Shoals

1008
00:41:27,671 --> 00:41:28,905
in late-August,

1009
00:41:28,905 --> 00:41:31,138
with a quick pit stop
in Cape Cod,

1010
00:41:31,138 --> 00:41:32,705
this bird made a week-long,

1011
00:41:32,705 --> 00:41:33,805
non-stop,

1012
00:41:33,805 --> 00:41:36,771
roughly 2000-mile flight
down to Venezuela,

1013
00:41:36,771 --> 00:41:39,171
averaging about
200 miles per day.

1014
00:41:39,171 --> 00:41:41,205
That's a lot
for this little birdie.

1015
00:41:42,671 --> 00:41:45,371
It wintered in Brazil
for eight well-earned months,

1016
00:41:45,371 --> 00:41:47,205
and in spring,

1017
00:41:47,205 --> 00:41:49,738
came back to the Shoals
to do it all over again.

1018
00:41:51,538 --> 00:41:52,805
[Craig] It's exciting

1019
00:41:52,805 --> 00:41:55,071
when you get to see a bird
that's come back here,

1020
00:41:55,071 --> 00:41:56,871
and it's 20 years old--

1021
00:41:56,871 --> 00:41:58,771
19, 20, 21 years old--

1022
00:41:58,771 --> 00:42:01,371
and it's been coming back here
year after year.

1023
00:42:01,371 --> 00:42:02,605
And you get to know
that individual--

1024
00:42:02,605 --> 00:42:04,405
and "Oh, it's back again
this year."

1025
00:42:04,405 --> 00:42:06,471
To me, that's the best feeling.

1026
00:42:06,471 --> 00:42:09,038
[Narrator] Soon, these birds
will head south

1027
00:42:09,038 --> 00:42:10,971
and the islands will go quiet.

1028
00:42:12,538 --> 00:42:13,771
[Craig] We're going to back off
from this bird

1029
00:42:13,771 --> 00:42:15,938
so it can find its home.

1030
00:42:20,871 --> 00:42:22,771
Some of them are adapting
better than others.

1031
00:42:22,771 --> 00:42:24,771
We see some terns

1032
00:42:24,771 --> 00:42:27,871
bring back no butterfish at all
for their chicks.

1033
00:42:30,138 --> 00:42:32,038
There will be more butterfish
in the environment,

1034
00:42:32,038 --> 00:42:33,471
but that doesn't
necessarily mean

1035
00:42:33,471 --> 00:42:36,171
that these birds are doomed
to eat butterfish forever.

1036
00:42:36,171 --> 00:42:38,405
They have the capacity to learn.

1037
00:42:39,605 --> 00:42:41,171
[Narrator]
As waters continue to warm,

1038
00:42:41,171 --> 00:42:43,738
everything in the gulf
will need to learn and adapt...

1039
00:42:44,871 --> 00:42:46,638
Gotta love our little landing
down here--

1040
00:42:46,638 --> 00:42:48,138
all natural.

1041
00:42:48,138 --> 00:42:49,771
[Narrator]
...something that the Cox family

1042
00:42:49,771 --> 00:42:51,138
knows all too well.

1043
00:42:51,138 --> 00:42:53,038
[starter purring]

1044
00:42:53,038 --> 00:42:54,705
[Andrew Cox] Nothing fancy.

1045
00:42:57,305 --> 00:42:58,571
[Narrator]
Folks along the Gulf of Maine

1046
00:42:58,571 --> 00:43:01,338
have been piecing life together
seasonally for years--

1047
00:43:01,338 --> 00:43:04,105
an early version
of the gig economy.

1048
00:43:05,271 --> 00:43:06,705
Winter might be scallops,

1049
00:43:06,705 --> 00:43:08,705
spring, lobsters,

1050
00:43:08,705 --> 00:43:10,171
and clamming year-round--

1051
00:43:10,171 --> 00:43:12,138
if you can keep
the green crabs in check.

1052
00:43:12,138 --> 00:43:13,938
[Johnny Cox]
Yeah, Harold is up on the top,

1053
00:43:13,938 --> 00:43:15,405
waiting for a ride.

1054
00:43:15,405 --> 00:43:17,038
[Andrew Cox] Yeah.

1055
00:43:20,138 --> 00:43:21,805
Climb aboard.

1056
00:43:21,805 --> 00:43:23,371
I thought
I would sit this one out.

1057
00:43:23,371 --> 00:43:25,105
[Andrew Cox] Oh, yeah?
Retirement again?

1058
00:43:29,538 --> 00:43:32,438
[Narrator] Johnny and Andrew
have had success lobstering,

1059
00:43:32,438 --> 00:43:34,938
but lately, something's off.

1060
00:43:36,071 --> 00:43:39,605
[Andrew Cox] Every yellow dot
is where my traps used to be.

1061
00:43:39,605 --> 00:43:41,538
I've moved a lot this year.

1062
00:43:41,538 --> 00:43:43,205
I got a lot of dots.

1063
00:43:43,205 --> 00:43:44,771
[laughs]

1064
00:43:44,771 --> 00:43:46,705
I've been trying to chase them.

1065
00:43:50,005 --> 00:43:51,605
No one home.

1066
00:43:51,605 --> 00:43:53,471
[Johnny Cox] I guess
they didn't like the menu.

1067
00:43:54,538 --> 00:43:56,205
Crabs and junk!

1068
00:43:56,205 --> 00:43:58,171
[Andrew Cox] All right.
Set her up!

1069
00:43:59,805 --> 00:44:01,071
When I was a kid,

1070
00:44:01,071 --> 00:44:02,505
we used to get a bucket,

1071
00:44:02,505 --> 00:44:05,505
two buckets of, like,
lobsters, easy.

1072
00:44:05,505 --> 00:44:07,571
Now, up in here,

1073
00:44:07,571 --> 00:44:10,905
you would be lucky to get
maybe three or four lobsters.

1074
00:44:10,905 --> 00:44:12,438
It could be

1075
00:44:12,438 --> 00:44:14,705
both the warming water
from climate change

1076
00:44:14,705 --> 00:44:17,438
and it could be another factor--

1077
00:44:17,438 --> 00:44:18,938
the green crabs invasive species

1078
00:44:18,938 --> 00:44:21,371
that we introduced
to our waters.

1079
00:44:21,371 --> 00:44:24,238
All those factors are impacting
our natural resources.

1080
00:44:24,238 --> 00:44:26,771
Yeah, that's
what I was afraid of.

1081
00:44:26,771 --> 00:44:28,838
Green crabs.

1082
00:44:28,838 --> 00:44:31,571
This is the invasive species
that eats everything.

1083
00:44:31,571 --> 00:44:32,705
[Johnny Cox] It's a problem!

1084
00:44:32,705 --> 00:44:34,505
I mean, they're going
to eat anything.

1085
00:44:34,505 --> 00:44:37,305
If you take a small lobster,
they'll eat it.

1086
00:44:37,305 --> 00:44:38,871
They ain't got no choice
in the menu.

1087
00:44:38,871 --> 00:44:40,205
They got to eat something.

1088
00:44:42,205 --> 00:44:43,438
[Andrew Cox]
That's out of three traps.

1089
00:44:43,438 --> 00:44:46,171
That's what is eating our stuff.

1090
00:44:51,738 --> 00:44:52,771
One.

1091
00:44:54,571 --> 00:44:55,938
[Johnny Cox]
Well, we're gaining.

1092
00:44:55,938 --> 00:44:57,971
We caught enough
for supper anyway.

1093
00:45:00,038 --> 00:45:01,438
[Narrator]
Being able to roll with change

1094
00:45:01,438 --> 00:45:04,938
is a must if you live
on the Gulf of Maine.

1095
00:45:04,938 --> 00:45:05,905
Working these waters

1096
00:45:05,905 --> 00:45:08,105
isn't just about
making a living,

1097
00:45:08,105 --> 00:45:09,705
it's a way of life.

1098
00:45:11,905 --> 00:45:14,338
[Andrew Cox] I did go to college
for four years.

1099
00:45:14,338 --> 00:45:15,805
I loved it.

1100
00:45:15,805 --> 00:45:17,138
But I really enjoy this.

1101
00:45:17,138 --> 00:45:19,971
I have a lot invested in this,
as you can tell--

1102
00:45:19,971 --> 00:45:22,071
these traps, the boat...

1103
00:45:22,071 --> 00:45:23,971
I've spent a lot of time
on this water,

1104
00:45:23,971 --> 00:45:25,871
learning the tides,

1105
00:45:25,871 --> 00:45:27,338
where the certain rocks are,

1106
00:45:27,338 --> 00:45:28,338
reefs.

1107
00:45:28,338 --> 00:45:30,171
I learned the hard way
a few times.

1108
00:45:30,171 --> 00:45:32,471
But no, I love it out here.

1109
00:45:32,471 --> 00:45:34,405
Especially days like today.

1110
00:45:34,405 --> 00:45:35,738
Nice and calm.

1111
00:45:35,738 --> 00:45:37,571
Nothing's broken down.

1112
00:45:37,571 --> 00:45:40,338
It's not a job sometimes
when you enjoy it.

1113
00:45:40,338 --> 00:45:42,505
Plus, I get to spend time
with the old man.

1114
00:45:45,138 --> 00:45:47,005
[Narrator]
But there's a growing fear

1115
00:45:47,005 --> 00:45:48,238
that green crabs

1116
00:45:48,238 --> 00:45:50,605
bring more change
than any fishery can handle,

1117
00:45:50,605 --> 00:45:52,805
whether it's lobsters or clams.

1118
00:45:57,771 --> 00:45:59,838
Back in Sipayik
four months later,

1119
00:45:59,838 --> 00:46:02,738
the clam gardeners
are checking on their seedlings.

1120
00:46:07,705 --> 00:46:10,071
[Beal] Okay, so we're just
hauling it right up.

1121
00:46:10,071 --> 00:46:11,705
[Narrator] Their clam seeds
have been watered

1122
00:46:11,705 --> 00:46:14,338
by nearly 300 tides

1123
00:46:14,338 --> 00:46:15,371
and they hope

1124
00:46:15,371 --> 00:46:17,205
that they've at least
doubled in size.

1125
00:46:17,205 --> 00:46:19,038
[Beal] All right,
so these are ready to come out.

1126
00:46:19,038 --> 00:46:20,405
Thanks, Thomas.

1127
00:46:23,471 --> 00:46:25,071
[Narrator]
This all comes down to timing.

1128
00:46:26,571 --> 00:46:27,905
By setting the boxes out

1129
00:46:27,905 --> 00:46:30,905
after green crabs are too big
to fit through the mesh cover,

1130
00:46:30,905 --> 00:46:32,471
they have a shot

1131
00:46:32,471 --> 00:46:35,805
at turning this mudflat
back into a clamflat.

1132
00:46:37,238 --> 00:46:38,671
[Beal] In the early '40s,

1133
00:46:38,671 --> 00:46:40,305
up to the early '50s,

1134
00:46:40,305 --> 00:46:42,305
clams used to be the king.

1135
00:46:42,305 --> 00:46:43,971
They used to be
more important economically

1136
00:46:43,971 --> 00:46:45,205
than lobsters.

1137
00:46:46,338 --> 00:46:47,671
But the problem is

1138
00:46:47,671 --> 00:46:50,371
that soft-shell clam landings
in Maine are at historic lows.

1139
00:46:50,371 --> 00:46:51,738
It's 2023

1140
00:46:51,738 --> 00:46:55,005
and the state has never seen
landings this low before.

1141
00:46:55,005 --> 00:46:57,171
There's not enough
to sustain a fishery.

1142
00:46:58,738 --> 00:47:00,138
[Narrator]
Within the past 50 years,

1143
00:47:00,138 --> 00:47:01,138
clam landings--

1144
00:47:01,138 --> 00:47:02,571
that's the total weight of clams

1145
00:47:02,571 --> 00:47:03,871
brought in
by commercial clammers

1146
00:47:03,871 --> 00:47:05,238
every year--

1147
00:47:05,238 --> 00:47:07,238
have dropped almost 90%...

1148
00:47:08,371 --> 00:47:10,205
...and the clammers
digging them out?

1149
00:47:10,205 --> 00:47:11,271
Three out of four

1150
00:47:11,271 --> 00:47:13,271
have left the flats entirely
for other work.

1151
00:47:14,105 --> 00:47:15,471
Brian Altvater knows

1152
00:47:15,471 --> 00:47:19,138
that planting clam seeds may be
one of their only ways forward.

1153
00:47:19,138 --> 00:47:20,771
[Altvater] So we got these nets,

1154
00:47:20,771 --> 00:47:24,105
and so there's 4,000 clams
in each one of these plots.

1155
00:47:24,105 --> 00:47:27,905
Well, you've got 50 plots,

1156
00:47:27,905 --> 00:47:30,738
4,000, you know, each,

1157
00:47:30,738 --> 00:47:32,638
so you do the math.

1158
00:47:32,638 --> 00:47:35,238
If this turns out
the way we're hoping,

1159
00:47:35,238 --> 00:47:37,738
we'll have
a crop of clams every year.

1160
00:47:37,738 --> 00:47:40,305
[Narrator]
And they're about to find out.

1161
00:47:40,305 --> 00:47:43,238
So I'm just scooping the mud.

1162
00:47:43,238 --> 00:47:46,871
We've got 111 more boxes
to do this morning.

1163
00:47:46,871 --> 00:47:48,738
This should have
green crabs in it,

1164
00:47:48,738 --> 00:47:49,871
but it doesn't,

1165
00:47:49,871 --> 00:47:51,705
so I'm happy, yeah.

1166
00:47:51,705 --> 00:47:53,971
[Narrator]
They got their timing right.

1167
00:47:53,971 --> 00:47:55,305
The garden boxes worked

1168
00:47:55,305 --> 00:47:56,771
and they now have

1169
00:47:56,771 --> 00:47:58,971
more than 100,000 seeds
to plant.

1170
00:48:01,805 --> 00:48:04,605
For the next five months,
the seeds are kept indoors.

1171
00:48:04,605 --> 00:48:06,438
[Beal] Goodbye!

1172
00:48:06,438 --> 00:48:09,538
[Narrator] Come spring,
it's finally planting season.

1173
00:48:09,538 --> 00:48:10,771
Now twice as big,

1174
00:48:10,771 --> 00:48:13,138
the clam seeds are going in
for the last time.

1175
00:48:17,338 --> 00:48:20,971
And like any garden,
it takes a lot of tending.

1176
00:48:20,971 --> 00:48:23,871
So we have 125 different plots.

1177
00:48:23,871 --> 00:48:26,471
All of them have 4,000 seed
in each plot,

1178
00:48:26,471 --> 00:48:27,838
so 500,000 clams

1179
00:48:27,838 --> 00:48:31,171
that we have planted
over a three-year span.

1180
00:48:31,171 --> 00:48:33,505
[Narrator] Erik Francis
is the steward

1181
00:48:33,505 --> 00:48:36,305
of the Sipayik Community
Clam Garden.

1182
00:48:36,305 --> 00:48:38,438
He doesn't
have to water anything,

1183
00:48:38,438 --> 00:48:40,705
but there is
plenty of weeding to do.

1184
00:48:40,705 --> 00:48:43,638
[Erik Francis] It is similar
to any garden on land.

1185
00:48:43,638 --> 00:48:45,971
Any garden
takes a lot of hard work.

1186
00:48:45,971 --> 00:48:48,138
We spend a lot of time
out here,

1187
00:48:48,138 --> 00:48:49,671
mainly moving seaweed,

1188
00:48:49,671 --> 00:48:52,171
just to prevent
the nets from being covered.

1189
00:48:54,171 --> 00:48:56,805
[Narrator] A covered net
could lead to a ripped net.

1190
00:48:56,805 --> 00:48:59,238
[Francis] This is the rip
caused by a storm,

1191
00:48:59,238 --> 00:49:01,771
which left
the whole net exposed,

1192
00:49:01,771 --> 00:49:03,738
so green crab
could climb under.

1193
00:49:03,738 --> 00:49:05,538
That's a buffet in there.

1194
00:49:05,538 --> 00:49:07,905
So what we're gonna do is
we're going to take the net,

1195
00:49:07,905 --> 00:49:09,205
and unseat it,

1196
00:49:09,205 --> 00:49:11,038
and replace it.

1197
00:49:11,038 --> 00:49:12,371
The green crab
are moving with that tide,

1198
00:49:12,371 --> 00:49:14,371
so we have to move
relatively quick

1199
00:49:14,371 --> 00:49:17,005
to put this net down
to protect all these clams.

1200
00:49:18,038 --> 00:49:20,505
[Narrator]
No staking required here,

1201
00:49:20,505 --> 00:49:21,905
a simple trench and backfill

1202
00:49:21,905 --> 00:49:24,205
can keep a net down
for about a year.

1203
00:49:26,171 --> 00:49:27,271
And while the clams grow,

1204
00:49:27,271 --> 00:49:30,305
Erik also tracks
public enemy number one.

1205
00:49:34,205 --> 00:49:35,271
We got some crab.

1206
00:49:35,271 --> 00:49:36,938
Now, what this one is,

1207
00:49:36,938 --> 00:49:39,205
is she's an egg-bearing female.

1208
00:49:39,205 --> 00:49:42,605
Every little dot and speck
is a future green crab.

1209
00:49:42,605 --> 00:49:46,171
She's carrying upwards
to 100,000 plus eggs.

1210
00:49:46,171 --> 00:49:49,238
So she's the main reason
that we have all the nets.

1211
00:49:49,238 --> 00:49:51,405
But this is just nature.

1212
00:49:51,405 --> 00:49:53,238
We're all just surviving
at the end of the day.

1213
00:49:53,238 --> 00:49:56,238
So they're doing
what they're supposed to do.

1214
00:49:56,238 --> 00:49:57,605
We're going to try to do
what we do

1215
00:49:57,605 --> 00:50:00,338
to have something to pass down
to the next generation.

1216
00:50:02,238 --> 00:50:04,071
[Narrator] The Gulf of Maine
has been changing

1217
00:50:04,071 --> 00:50:06,738
ever since its formation
thousands of years ago...

1218
00:50:08,338 --> 00:50:10,438
...but our role
in just a couple hundred years

1219
00:50:10,438 --> 00:50:12,505
has been profound...

1220
00:50:12,505 --> 00:50:13,838
altering the foodchain

1221
00:50:13,838 --> 00:50:15,305
and even ocean currents.

1222
00:50:16,405 --> 00:50:19,271
Its warmer waters
now determine who thrives

1223
00:50:19,271 --> 00:50:21,071
and who moves on.

1224
00:50:21,071 --> 00:50:23,438
[Fields]
These things have been honed

1225
00:50:23,438 --> 00:50:25,371
for hundreds
of thousands of years

1226
00:50:25,371 --> 00:50:27,771
to make the ecology
of this animal work,

1227
00:50:27,771 --> 00:50:29,871
and it can adapt to change,

1228
00:50:29,871 --> 00:50:32,605
but when you make change
really fast,

1229
00:50:32,605 --> 00:50:34,338
the populations can't keep up,

1230
00:50:34,338 --> 00:50:36,871
and they either end up
going extinct,

1231
00:50:36,871 --> 00:50:40,105
or having drastic moves
to the North or the South.

1232
00:50:42,605 --> 00:50:45,071
[Brown] There's going to be
ups and downs in any fishery.

1233
00:50:45,071 --> 00:50:48,171
What you want to watch out for
is overharvesting,

1234
00:50:48,171 --> 00:50:50,271
resulting in
recruitment failure,

1235
00:50:50,271 --> 00:50:51,838
resulting in lower catches,

1236
00:50:51,838 --> 00:50:53,605
resulting in a crashed fishery.

1237
00:50:53,605 --> 00:50:55,571
If we were to see
a major downturn,

1238
00:50:55,571 --> 00:50:57,605
we would know about it
well in advance,

1239
00:50:57,605 --> 00:50:58,905
and so that's really

1240
00:50:58,905 --> 00:51:01,405
the power of this project
up and down the coast.

1241
00:51:02,738 --> 00:51:04,605
[Narrator] So paying attention
to these animals

1242
00:51:04,605 --> 00:51:07,238
may reveal clues
of what's to come.

1243
00:51:08,671 --> 00:51:10,405
[Craig] They definitely
are similar

1244
00:51:10,405 --> 00:51:11,771
to the canary in the coal mine.

1245
00:51:11,771 --> 00:51:13,438
So what we learn
from these birds

1246
00:51:13,438 --> 00:51:14,705
tells us a lot

1247
00:51:14,705 --> 00:51:16,438
of what's happening
to the fish communities,

1248
00:51:16,438 --> 00:51:19,505
which are commercially important
to us here in the Gulf of Maine,

1249
00:51:19,505 --> 00:51:20,605
as well as just

1250
00:51:20,605 --> 00:51:22,938
the overall health
of our ocean systems.

1251
00:51:22,938 --> 00:51:26,638
[Narrator] The ingenuity
that decimated some species

1252
00:51:26,638 --> 00:51:29,805
is now leveraged
to save jobs and culture...

1253
00:51:29,805 --> 00:51:31,771
The clamming industry
is in jeopardy

1254
00:51:31,771 --> 00:51:33,338
and what we're trying to do

1255
00:51:33,338 --> 00:51:36,305
is something that communities
can grow their clams,

1256
00:51:36,305 --> 00:51:37,971
protect them from green crabs,

1257
00:51:37,971 --> 00:51:39,571
and then harvest them.

1258
00:51:39,571 --> 00:51:42,171
[Narrator] ...and maybe
the wisdom of 14,000 years

1259
00:51:42,171 --> 00:51:44,938
can guide us through
the most profound changes.

1260
00:51:46,071 --> 00:51:47,471
[Altvater]
We've always taken care

1261
00:51:47,471 --> 00:51:48,871
of the land and the sea.

1262
00:51:48,871 --> 00:51:50,638
It has sustained us,

1263
00:51:50,638 --> 00:51:52,038
it's taken care of us,

1264
00:51:52,038 --> 00:51:56,338
and we'll get back to taking
care of even the mudflats,

1265
00:51:56,338 --> 00:51:58,271
and they'll take care of us.

1266
00:51:58,271 --> 00:52:02,005
Take care of the fish,
the fish will feed us.

1267
00:52:02,005 --> 00:52:05,238
And the clams can be
the same way--

1268
00:52:05,238 --> 00:52:07,038
take care of them,

1269
00:52:07,038 --> 00:52:08,405
they'll take care of us.

1270
00:52:38,371 --> 00:52:40,205
[♪♪♪♪♪]