The first nationwide vulnerability assessment for ocean acidification shows that coastal communities in 15 American states which depend on the nation’s US$1bn shelled mollusc industry are at long-term economic risk from ocean acidification.
The assessment, published in Nature Climate Change, identifies new communities at risk of the problem everywhere from Maine and the Chesapeake Bay to the Louisiana bayou.
Julia Ekstrom, lead author of the research and now director of the climate adaptation program at the UC Davis Policy Institute for Energy, Environment and the Economy, said: “Ocean acidification has already cost the oyster industry in the Pacific Northwest nearly US$110m and jeopardised about 3,200 jobs. Our research shows, for the first time, that many communities around the US face similar risks.”
Of particular concern are the study’s findings that many of the most economically dependent regions are currently the least prepared to respond. States such as Massachusetts, New Jersey, Virginia, and Louisiana have minimal support for research and monitoring of ocean acidification.
The report said that while reducing global carbon emissions is the ultimate solution, localised solutions can be implemented including reducing local pollutants such as agricultural runoff, diversifying fishing fleets and investment in aquaculture of high-value shellfish species, developing “early warning” systems for corrosive waters and cultivating acidification-resistant strains of oysters.
Ocean acidification is the result of oceans absorbing the growing amounts of carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels. Acidifying waters make it more difficult for creatures with calcium carbonate shells or skeletons, including molluscs, crabs, and corals, to grow shells and survive.
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