Chapter 73 - 72: Black Swan
Chapter 73: Chapter 72: Black Swan
On the far side of the Pacific Ocean.
On the calm surface of the sea.
A research vessel sailed slowly.
A few seagulls circled behind the boat, picking at the sea fish killed by the propellers.
"Oooh-ooh-ooh..." A young man with curly brown hair stood on the deck, hooting like an ape.
Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder.
"Mr. Hooker, please fasten your safety line."
The person who spoke was the one who had tapped the curly-haired Hooker.
Hooker shrugged, nonchalantly clipping the safety line’s buckle to his belt. Then, he said with a cheeky grin, "Ali, want to grab a drink tonight? My parents went to New Zealand on vacation yesterday."
"You think you’re so handsome?" Ali narrowed her eyes, looking at her scumbag colleague with disdain. Then, with a deadpan expression, she said, "Mr. Hooker, please refrain from discussing non-work-related matters during work hours. Otherwise, I’ll report you for sexual harassment."
"Hahaha, Hooker, the look on your face is priceless. As colorful as the flowers at the shop next to the institute." Another colleague, a man with a big beard, joked as he manned the helm.
"Shut up, Antonio, and watch where you’re going!" The curly-haired Hooker picked up a probe and casually tossed it into the sea.
Meanwhile, the bearded Antonio was bringing the research vessel to a stop.
Ali ducked and entered the cabin.
A balding old man with glasses and a white beard was focused intently on a laptop.
"Dr. Andrew, we’ve reached the designated coordinates. Hooker just dropped the probe into the sea; it’s on the surface now."
The doctor didn’t look up. He opened the software on his laptop and checked the data the probe had just transmitted.
After a moment, Dr. Andrew suddenly looked up. "Ali, have Hooker deploy another probe."
"Doctor, is there a problem with the data?"
"Yes. The data from that probe shows a surface water temperature of 23 degrees Celsius."
"What?" Ali was shocked. She rushed outside and shouted to Hooker, "Hooker, deploy a new probe immediately!"
Unconcerned, Hooker expertly opened the protective casing and tossed an arm-thick cylinder into the sea. The cylinder was still attached to a cable.
He glanced at the sea surface and muttered under his breath, ’What’s there to even test? Such a boring day. I really miss Maria from the bar.’
Ali, however, had no interest in paying him any mind and went back inside the cabin.
Dr. Andrew had already received the data from the second probe, and his expression was grim.
Seeing the doctor’s face, Ali knew the data from the second probe must be the same as the first.
"Doctor, is it still 23 degrees Celsius?"
"Yes. This is very bad. It’s already May, and the surface temperature is 23 degrees Celsius. This means the winter temperatures in June, July, and August certainly won’t be very low, either." As a researcher at the Peruvian Oceanographic Institute and a long-time student of the Peruvian Current, Dr. Andrew knew the moment he saw this temperature that something was terribly wrong.
Ali suggested, "Doctor, should we move to a different location and take a few more readings?"
"You may. Make the arrangements." Dr. Andrew didn’t hold out much hope. He knew the Peruvian Current all too well.
The research vessel was currently at the maritime border between the exclusive economic zones of Peru and Chile. This was also the heart of the Peruvian Current. If the surface temperature here was already 21 to 23 degrees Celsius, the water would surely be even warmer in the parts of the current closer to the Equator.
Just as he expected.
After entering Chile’s exclusive economic zone, they took five consecutive readings, and the results were still higher than the annual average.
The water temperature of the Peruvian Current typically remained between 14 and 16 degrees Celsius year-round, which was 7 to 10 degrees lower than the surrounding air temperature.
This cold ocean current caused the sea surface along the west coast of South America to be frequently shrouded in fog. It was also the reason for the perennial drought in northern Chile, Peru, and southern Ecuador.
However, this cold current also created the world’s largest fishery—the Peruvian Fishery.
It was a double-edged sword.
The same cold current that created the Peruvian Fishery could also destroy it.
If the water temperature of the Peruvian Current exceeded 16 degrees Celsius, the catch from the Peruvian Fishery would decrease. If it surpassed 20 degrees Celsius, a widespread fishery failure would be essentially unavoidable.
The water temperature was already this high in May; it was unlikely to drop later.
As the research vessel was returning to Lima, the capital of Peru, Hooker shouted from the deck, "My God! So many dead fish!"
The doctor and Ali rushed out and also saw the dead fish floating on the surface.
Hooker scooped some up with a net.
The doctor crouched down to inspect them. "They’re all sardines. It’s over. This year’s catch from the Peruvian Fishery will definitely drop significantly."
The closer the research vessel got to Lima Port, the more dead fish they saw on the surface. They had clearly been carried toward the shore by the waves.
The moment the research vessel docked.
The sailors and owners of the fishing boats in the harbor, as well as the buyers from fishmeal production companies who were permanently stationed there, all wore expressions of sorrow and helplessness.
"Andrew, how are things?" an old acquaintance asked, handing him a bottle of cola.
Andrew took the cola. "The water temperature is too high. This year’s sardine catch will likely decrease dramatically."
PSSSH! Dr. Andrew opened the bottle and took a sip.
The man looked troubled. "But there was nothing abnormal half a month ago, was there? Why is this happening?"
"Global sea temperatures have been rising in recent years. Only God can answer that question, my friend. You haven’t been playing the black futures market again, have you?" Andrew stared at the man.
"Alright! I admit it. I’m screwed this time. Hundreds of thousands of dollars, gone. Shit!" The man angrily smashed the bottle on the pier.
BANG!
Just then.
From a nearby building, several people jumped, one after another.
"Oh my God!"
"Someone’s jumping!"
"Call an ambulance!"
"Probably some poor bastards who bet on black futures."
The sailors and fishermen on the pier murmured among themselves.
Andrew patted his old friend’s shoulder. "You play, you pay. May God bless you, my friend."
"Don’t worry! I only lost this once. I’m not stupid enough to bet everything."
The news about the massive fish kill off the coast of Peru could not be concealed.
Not only was it reported extensively by local media, but the existence of the global internet meant that the information appeared on news websites around the world almost simultaneously.
「Across the Pacific Ocean.」
In the Magong Town headquarters, Jiang Miao also saw the related news reports on his phone.
’With water temperatures like this, the Peruvian Fishery is heading for a massive production cut this year. It’s true what they say, when it rains, it pours. Fishmeal from the Peruvian Fishery accounts for 70% of global production. It looks like the price of imported fishmeal is about to skyrocket again.’
He immediately called the purchasing department to inquire.
After a while, Wang Feng, the manager of the purchasing department, called back. He reported that the several feed mills they had ordered from all said they would be raising the price of fish feed next month, with increases of around 10 to 15%.
Jiang Miao knew very well that if a major production cut at the Peruvian Fishery was a foregone conclusion, then fish feed prices were bound to see an even more dramatic surge.
This event had both pros and cons for the Hailufeng Company.
The downside was that the cost of eel farming would rise.
The upside, however, was that their soon-to-be-built feed mill could ride the wave of soaring fish feed prices and seize the opportunity to gobble up market share with its cost-effective advantages.
Therefore, Jiang Miao quickly laid out his plans: accelerate the construction of the feed mill and, at the same time, finalize the contracts for the 165 acres of ponds for the Egyptian Catfish.