Late Arriving Cold Cuts Ice Fishing Time in the US
2021-02-19
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1It may currently be very cold in the northern United States, but most of the winter was a little too warm for ice fishing.
2Scientists are just now able to study the 2021 population of a small fish popular in ice fishing.
3They are called rainbow smelts. People catch them through small holes dug through the ice surface of a frozen body of water.
4About 15 years ago, the rainbow smelt population began to drop in the U.S.
5The government declared them "a species of special concern," and began researching the fish.
6Scientists want to find out why there are many fewer smelt today than in the 1970s and 1980s.
7Thirty years ago, fishermen caught millions of kilograms of the fish each year.
8In 2018, they only caught about 22,000 kilograms.
9Researchers think climate change, loss of habitat and overfishing are all involved in the decreasing numbers.
10Wintry weather came late this year in Maine, where some smelts live.
11Scientists there could not catch them until early February when the thick ice finally formed.
12The lack of ice also stopped sport fishing for smelts.
13And that hurt businesses linked to the activity.
14Steve Leighton owns Leighton Smelt Camps in Maine.
15He had trouble making money this winter.
16"(I'm) just going to try to pay for expenses right now," he said.
17In Ohio, Tony Muscioni helps people catch a type of fish called walleye in Lake Erie each winter.
18He said he had thought the lake would not ice over this year at all.
19Now, there finally is some thick ice.
20"You've just got to watch where you're going now," he said.
21Wildlife departments around the Northern U.S have warned fishermen to be careful on the ice.
22Tom Hawley studies water with the National Weather Service.
23In Maine, he said, there has been about half the usual amount of ice.
24Normally, there are about 50 centimeters.
25That is because January was about 3 degrees Celsius warmer than usual.
26I'm Dan Friedell.
1It may currently be very cold in the northern United States, but most of the winter was a little too warm for ice fishing. Scientists are just now able to study the 2021 population of a small fish popular in ice fishing. 2They are called rainbow smelts. People catch them through small holes dug through the ice surface of a frozen body of water. About 15 years ago, the rainbow smelt population began to drop in the U.S. The government declared them "a species of special concern," and began researching the fish. 3Scientists want to find out why there are many fewer smelt today than in the 1970s and 1980s. Thirty years ago, fishermen caught millions of kilograms of the fish each year. In 2018, they only caught about 22,000 kilograms. 4Researchers think climate change, loss of habitat and overfishing are all involved in the decreasing numbers. 5Wintry weather came late this year in Maine, where some smelts live. Scientists there could not catch them until early February when the thick ice finally formed. 6The lack of ice also stopped sport fishing for smelts. And that hurt businesses linked to the activity. 7Steve Leighton owns Leighton Smelt Camps in Maine. He had trouble making money this winter. 8"(I'm) just going to try to pay for expenses right now," he said. 9In Ohio, Tony Muscioni helps people catch a type of fish called walleye in Lake Erie each winter. He said he had thought the lake would not ice over this year at all. Now, there finally is some thick ice. 10"You've just got to watch where you're going now," he said. 11Wildlife departments around the Northern U.S have warned fishermen to be careful on the ice. 12Tom Hawley studies water with the National Weather Service. In Maine, he said, there has been about half the usual amount of ice. Normally, there are about 50 centimeters. 13That is because January was about 3 degrees Celsius warmer than usual. 14I'm Dan Friedell. 15Patrick Whittle wrote this story for The Associated Press. Dan Friedell adapted it for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. 16Do you have ice fishing where you live? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. 17________________________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19habitat - n. the place or type of place where a plant or animal naturally or normally lives or grows