NOAA - Bountiful AK Fisheries Now Taking A Pounding From Acidification, Esp. Off Southern Coast
LONDON ? The waters off the U.S. state of Alaska are some of the best fishing grounds anywhere, teeming with salmon and with shellfish such as crab. But a new study, funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), says growing acidification of Alaska’s waters, particularly those off the southern coast, threatens the state’s whole economy ? largely dependent on the fishing industry.
The study, which appears in the journal Progress in Oceanography, says that not only will the state’s commercial fishing sector be badly hit by a growth in acidification, but it will also affect subsistence fisher people whose diet mainly consists of the catch from local waters.
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Jeremy Mathis, an NOAA oceanographer and a lead author of the study, told the Alaska Dispatch News that whereas past reports had focused on the consequences of increased acidification on ocean species, the aim of this one was designed to examine the wider economic impact. “This is an economic-social study,” Mathis said. “It focuses on food security, employment opportunity, and the size of the economy.”
Mathis said acidification is more likely in Alaskan waters than in many other parts of the world. He explained: “It’s all about geography. The world’s ocean currents end their cycles here, depositing carbon dioxide from elsewhere. The coastal waters of Alaska sit right at the end of the ocean conveyor belt.”
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http://www.climatecentral.org/news/marine-economy-takes-a-dive-as-ocean-acidity-rises-17878
