There's a fight brewing in the Pacific about toxic algae, climate change, and crabs. It has the commercial crab industry squaring off against Big Oil. So for our latest Verge Science video, I took some motion-sickness meds and hopped on a boat to find out what's really threatening commercial crabbing and what can be done about it.
就太平洋地区的毒藻类、气候变化和螃蟹问题，争论一触即发。商品蟹行业与石油巨头（Big Oil）正相持不下。所以，为拍摄Verge杂志的最新一期科学视频，我吃了点晕船药，登上一艘轮船去探索威胁商品蟹的真正原因，以及我们可以做些什么。
At the heart of this fight is a neurotoxin called domoic acid, which causes something called amnesic shellfish poisoning. The symptoms can range from stomach problems, confusion, short-term memory loss, seizures, and even death. For the past four years, elevated levels of the toxin have forced California's commercial crab fishery to stay closed for weeks to months past the usual opening day until the levels drop.
这场争论主要围绕一种叫做软骨藻酸的神经毒素展开，这种毒素会引起记忆丧失性贝毒。主要症状包括：胃痛、精神错乱、短期记忆丧失、癫痫，甚至死亡。过去四年中，该毒素水平升高，迫使加利福尼亚州的商品蟹渔业延迟开业期（短则数周，长则数月），直至毒素水平下降。
Domoic acid is produced by algae that bloom regularly along the Pacific coast. These blooms aren't always dangerous. There's some combination of nutrients, light, and, perhaps most importantly, warm water that can create a toxic soup. The toxin travels up the food chain from filter-feeding shellfish to creatures like crabs, marine mammals, and, rarely, to humans. To keep the food supply safe, state officials close fisheries when levels get too high.
通常情况下，软骨藻酸是太平洋沿海的硅藻繁殖时产生的。此类繁殖并不总是危险的。需要营养素、光照，更为重要的是，温水组合在一起才能产生毒素。该毒素会沿着食物链从滤食性贝类传播到螃蟹、海洋哺乳动物，极少情况下，会传播给人类。为保证食品供应安全，当毒素水平过高时，加州官员会关闭渔业。
These closures have been devastating to the Dungeness crab industry, as many publications, including San Francisco Magazine and National Geographic, have reported. The worst closure started in 2017 and lasted for months, costing the industry more than $48.3 million by one estimate and upwards of $117 million by another. The 2016 and 2018 seasons also saw domoic acid delays.
渔业关停对珍宝蟹行业的打击是毁灭性的，正如《旧金山杂志》《国家地理》等刊物所报道的那样。最糟糕的一次关停发生在2017年，关停持续了4个月，使该行业损失超过4830万美元，还有人估计称，此次损失超过1.17亿美元。2016年和2018年也见证了软骨藻酸引起的渔业推迟开业的现象。
An organization called the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations is bracing for a future where climate change ensures that there's plenty of that key ingredient for toxic blooms: warm water. These fishers have connected some worrying dots, from the toxic blooms and warming oceans to climate change and fossil fuels. So the group has taken the extraordinary step of suing 30 major fossil fuel companies: it wants Big Oil to pay for the harm to members' livelihoods, and they want their industry to survive even in a changing climate.
一家名为太平洋海岸渔民联合协会（Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations）的组织正做好准备迎接气候变化，因为气候变化势必为毒素产生提供关键因素：温水。这些渔民将一些令人担忧的现状串联起来（从毒素繁殖和海洋变暖到气候变化和化石燃料），所以该机构采取了重大举措--起诉30家领头化石燃料公司：该机构希望石油巨头们为渔民生计受损负责，同时希望渔业能够在气候变化的情况下存活。