VOA双语新闻：9、厄尔尼诺现象使鱼群从墨西哥游到加州（在线收听）

厄尔尼诺现象使鱼群从墨西哥游到加州

Fish in an unexpected spectrum of sizes, shapes and colors are moving north, through El Ni?o's warm currents from Mexican waters to the Pacific Ocean off California’s coast. El Nino is the periodic warming of the eastern and central Pacific Ocean. This phenomenon thrills scientists and gives anglers the chance of a once-in-a-lifetime big catch.

意想不到的各种各样大小、形状和颜色的鱼儿们正随着厄尔尼诺暖流从墨西哥水域朝北像加利福尼亚海岸游移。厄尔尼诺现象是太平洋中东部周期性的升温。这个现象让科学家们感到兴奋，还给了垂钓者们一生一次钓大鱼的机会。

Thanks to El Ni?o, California's coastal waters have become more hospitable to fish from the tropics. Hammerhead sharks are among them.

因为厄尔尼诺现象，加州海岸的水域环境对来自热带的鱼儿们来说变的更加舒适。锤头鲨（又名双髻鲨）是其中之一。

“For over a year now, a lot of warm water fishes that we don't usually see have been coming up," said Rick Feeney, fish expert from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

洛杉矶自然历史博物馆鱼类专家里克·菲尼说：“过去一年多的时间里，有很多我们不常见的暖水区鱼类来到我们这儿。”

The arrival of large numbers of big fish like wahoo and tuna has also invigorated California's saltwater sport fishing industry, which generates an estimated $1.8 billion a year.

大量包括刺鲅和鲔鱼在内的大鱼的到来也活跃了加州海水游钓产业，该产业每年带来约18亿美元的收入。

"All the sport fish from Mexico are coming up here. In fact, there's probably more sport fish up here than there are down at the tip of Baja where they usually are. Things like marlin, yellowtail, wahoo, yellow fin tuna, blue fin tuna, all sorts of things that fishermen love to catch," said Feeney.

菲尼说：“墨西哥各种游钓鱼类都往上游到这里。实际上，这里的游钓鱼可能比下加利福尼亚半岛尖端的还要多，他们以往通常都在那个区域。像旗鱼、鲱鱼、刺鲅、黄鳍金枪鱼、蓝鳍金枪鱼等等，各种各样渔夫们喜欢钓的鱼。”

But southern California’s warmer waters are forcing out other species that local wildlife depend on.

不过，南加州暖水区把本地野生生物倚赖的其他物种都排挤了出去。

"The normal stocks of anchovies and sardines have moved on. And a lot of the seal populations and sea lion populations, the pups are starving because the mothers can't find enough food. That might be one of the effects of El Ni?o," explained Feeney.

菲尼说：“平常的凤尾鱼和沙丁鱼群已经迁移了。还有很多海豹和海狮，它们的幼崽都在挨饿，因为妈妈们找不到足够的食物。这可能是厄尔尼诺的影响之一。”

Researchers say the northern migration of fish in the Pacific Ocean has been one of the most dynamic effects of the climate phenomenon.

研究人员说，太平洋鱼类向北迁徙是气候现象中最强有力的影响之一。

"Historically, it's a temporary change, and once El Ni?o stops, it just goes back to the cold water fauna. But we all know about global warming, and year by year we don't know how many of these fish will actually stick around and reproduce," said Fenney.

菲尼说：“从历史上来看，这是短暂的变化，一旦厄尔尼诺停止，这些鱼类就会回归到冷水区动物群。但是我们都知道现在全球变暖，一年又一年，我们不知道这些鱼儿们有多少会留下来，并在此繁衍。”

El Ni?o – and the tropical fish - are expected to be around until early next year.

预计，厄尔尼诺现象和热带鱼群都将持续到明年年初。