Ocean acidification is believed to be posing a serious threat the $1 billion U.S. shelled mollusk industry.
The findings are a result of the first-ever nationwide vulnerability analysis, which looked at the long-term risks associated with ocean acidification, Oregon State University reported. Coastal communities across 15 states depend of the revenue from this threatened industry, and the newly-identified risks span from Maine to the bayous of Louisiana.
"Ocean acidification has already cost the oyster industry in the Pacific Northwest nearly $110 million and jeopardized about 3,200 jobs," said Julie Ekstrom, who was lead author on the study while with the Natural Resources Defense Council.
The researchers believe the increasing threat of ocean acidification is largely linked to rising levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases. The team hopes to use this new data to help identify the best ways to increase the adaptive capacity of the affected communities and industries.
"Ultimately, however, without curbing carbon emissions, we will eventually run out of tools to address the short-term and we will be stuck with a much larger long-term problem," said George Waldbusser, an Oregon State University marine ecologist and biogeochemist.
The study identified a number of "hot zones" that are predicted to take the biggest hit from the effects of ocean acidification. These regions include the Pacific Northwest, Bew England, the Mid-Atlantic, and areas off the Gulf of Mexico. Many of the most economically-dependent regions, including Massachusetts, New Jersey, Virginia and Louisiana, are believed to be least prepared to adapt to the changes due to lack of research and ocean acidification monitoring.
"The power of this project is the collaboration of natural and social scientists focused on a problem that has and will continue to impact industries dependent on the sea," Waldbusser concluded.
The findings were funded through the National Science Foundation's National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center, and were published today in the journal Nature Climate Change.
See the interactive ocean acidification map HERE.
