The Beacon  Monica's Hot Topics: North Sea Nellies  As a result
of climate change, some North Sea fish may be echoing the line
of the rapper Nelly circa 2002: "It's Gettin' Hot in Here..."
The fish are being pushed to the limits of their heat tolerance
as temperatures continue to rise. Coastal sea surface
temperatures in the North Sea have risen by 0.2-0.6 degrees
Celsius per decade and on the sea floor by 1.6 degrees Celsius
over the past 30 years.  These increasing temperatures are
causing approximately two-thirds of the North Sea’s fish to
shift in depth and latitude (rather than take their clothes
off). On average, a deepening of approximately 3.6 m per decade
(some individual species have shifted by as much as 10 m) has
been observed in North Sea bottom-dwelling fish along with
latitudinal range expansions.  Fish that once were predominantly
found in warmer waters to the south of the North Sea, such as
sardines and snake pipefish, are now being found in the North
Sea due to its rising temperature. Small