On December 13, 2021, we were lucky to have Kale’s grandfather, Mr. John Melquist Sr. visit our classroom and share his observations as we posed this question to him: What changes in our local environment have you observed, related to climate change?
“On Monday my Grandpa, aka John Melquist, came into the 7th grade and talked about the ocean creatures and the oceans around us. He also talked about rivers and global warming.” Kale
Classmates Zoe and Isaiah summarize what we learned:
Zoe writes, “Climate change is affecting our whole planet, our oceans, the Gulf of Maine, and if you look close enough, our community. On the 13th of December, John Melquist Sr. shared changes he has observed in our town over the years. Everything he talked about was centered around the oceans.
One of the biggest differences he mentioned is the tides. He said that both the height and the force of the tides have changed even in just the past 20 years. As an example, he mentioned that there is a brook on his property that 20 something years ago would rarely overflow. Now, it is rare for it not to overflow.”
Isaiah adds, “Another thing Mr. Melquist talked about was the tides. He told us that there has been a big difference in the force and height of the tides over the years. When Mr. Melquist was younger, the tide’s force was not that bad. It would usually go faster in the fall, but it wasn’t all the time. Now it is. The tides force is worse more often, and will drag the buoys underneath the water.”
Zoe explains in more detail:
“As for the force of the tides or the “current of the pull” when the tide is going in or out, he said that around 20 something years ago he would fish off the shores of Matinicus. In the fall, sometimes in the summer, and rarely in the spring, the current of the tide would be SO strong that buoys would run under the water, but only in these particular seasons. These days it is more common that when he is fishing off Matinicus at the wrong time of the tide, buoys will go under all year round. He has to adapt and make adjustments to his lines in order for them to work properly and it would make sense that other fisherman do/will have to as well.
Mr. Melquist described how the changing oceans are especially affecting the fishing community and the ocean life. For example, he mentioned that seabirds (like puffins) are having a tough time reproducing because the fish that the young usually eat (minnows) are disappearing, moving with their ideal climate. Since the preferable food isn’t there, the puffins are forced to catch butterfish which are bigger than minnows and harder for the chicks to digest. Often the butterfish don’t fit down the younglings throats.
Another thing that Mr. Melquist talked about was the size and quantity of herring. In the 80’s the whole harbor was closed because there were SO MANY! He said that for about 20 years when he was working at the sardine factory they always caught the smaller fish that were about 3 years old and he would be upset when fish bigger with more feed in them were brought in because they couldn’t be packed. He then realized that if there was no feed there would be no fish at all. Normally they would find the smaller ones they wanted, but around the early 2000’s the big ones started appearing. They didn’t want the older ones, but no one had any idea where they were growing up. That meant that there were no fish around that were in the correct stage of life to pack. Now there are no small herring around these waters and really not that much herring overall. It is suspected that they are moving to waters more preferable since their ideal climate isn’t here anymore.
Next, Mr. Melquist shared about temperature and ice, ice on the St. George river to be exact. He said that a summer day would almost NEVER reach 90 degrees and now it isn’t really uncommon. In the winter about a half a century ago, there would be HUNDREDS of smelt houses lined up on the ice on the St. George River. The ice would be plenty thick, sometimes 18 inches! 10 years ago, Mr. Melquist started noticing little or no ice at all on the river and nearby brooks. The ice was nowhere near thick enough to put a house on let alone stand on. This is yet another example of how much our oceans have changed – 18’’ to 0’’ of ice.”
Isaiah explains about the “eMOLT” research that lobstermen have participated in. “One very problematic thing that is occurring lately is the lobster larvae are going adrift. A normal lobster larva floats on top of the water until they get too big and sink to the ocean floor. If the temperature is around 54 degrees, they stay there. But if the temperature is not one they like, the larva will go back up to the surface. They’ll float around some more, and usually they’ll end up in much deeper water. This makes it harder for people to catch them.”
We are indebted to Mr. Melquist for generously teaching us about our local resources through his own experiences. Thank you for talking with us!
Our reflections…
“I do know that Mr. Melquist is remarkable to have observed everything that he has and to give his time to contribute his findings. I thank him for his willingness to help and for supporting our class in the journey to learning what we can about the ocean and our changing environment, local and global.” Zoe
“All in all we learned quite a lot from Mr.Melquist about the problems around us that climate change has caused, and hopefully we can learn how to help fix it.” Isaiah
“I like the most learning about how the marsh turns from a salt marsh to an ice harvesting farm. I am concerned that ice is no longer thick enough at some spots. I am concerned about this because I like to go ice fishing.” Kale
“The thing I most enjoyed from his presentation was him talking about how he worked in a sardine factory. I know that there was a sardine factory at the top of Factory Hill that burned down. He said that the factory wanted 3-5 inch fish, but all they were catching were 7-9 inch fish which are too big.” Keifer
Here is a link to a transcription of video we recorded that day.
