U.S. coastal communities better start preparing for ocean acidification now, especially if we want scallops, oysters and other shellfish to keep appearing on our dinner plates.
That's the message of a new study that shows that shellfisheries across the U.S. are more vulnerable to climate change's less considered counterpart than previously thought. That vulnerability is due to more than changing ocean chemistry. Social and economic factors, local and more distant pollution and natural ocean processes could conspire to make ocean acidification a problem sooner rather than later.
"Massachusetts and Maine are places that are just screaming for problems," Suatoni said. "New Bedford, is the highest earning fishing port in the country. Eighty-five percent of landings are coming from one species: scallops. They're really vulnerable."
Even areas with low acidification rates such as the Gulf Coast are still highly vulnerable because of undiverse economies and harmful algae blooms that can exacerbate acidification's impacts. By identifying those vulnerabilities now, New Bedford and other ports can consider what steps they need to take to shore up vulnerability now rather than waiting for a crisis to hit.
"Developing these types of studies that bring the results into a greater community context is extremely valuable to policymakers that need to make decisions for their areas," Jeremy Mathis, director of ocean and environmental research at Pacific Marine Environmental Lab, said.