Ocean Acidification Here; Wild & Commercial Oyster Failures In Pacific NW In 6th Year

[hatrack]

EDIT

Ocean Acidification - which makes it difficult for shellfish, corals, sea urchins, and other creatures to form the shells or calcium-based structures they need to live — was supposed to be a problem of the future. But because of patterns of ocean circulation, Pacific Northwest shellfish are already on the front lines of these potentially devastating changes in ocean chemistry. Colder, more acidic waters are welling up from the depths of the Pacific Ocean and streaming ashore in the fjords, bays, and estuaries of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, exacting an environmental and economic toll on the region’s famed oysters.

For the past six years, wild oysters in Willapa Bay, Washington, have failed to reproduce successfully because corrosive waters have prevented oyster larvae from forming shells. Wild oysters in Puget Sound and off the east coast of Vancouver Island also have experienced reproductive failure because of acidic waters. Other wild oyster beds in the Pacific Northwest have sustained losses in recent years at the same time that scientists have been measuring alarmingly corrosive water along the Pacific coast.

The region’s thriving oyster hatcheries have had to scramble to adapt to these increases in acidity, which pose a threat to their very existence. Some of the largest operations, such as Whiskey Creek, are buffering the water in which they grow their larvae, essentially giving their tanks a dose of antacid in the form of sodium bicarbonate.

While the operation may look modest — a handful of small buildings just yards from the shore of a wide bay — Whiskey Creek is one of the largest suppliers of oyster seed on the West Coast. Its baby oysters are grown all along the U.S. Pacific coast, where the oyster industry is currently valued at about $73 million annually. Washington's Taylor Shellfish Hatchery — the country’s largest producer of farmed shellfish and one of the largest oyster producers — has also experienced dramatic losses. Its hatchery on Hood Canal, which has had some of the Pacific Northwest’s highest levels of ocean acidification, experienced the loss of about three-quarters of its oyster larvae before the owners began buffering the high acidity.

EDIT

http://e360.yale.edu/feature/massive_oyster_die-offs_show_ocean_acidification_has_arrived/2466/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+YaleEnvironment360+%28Yale+Environment+360%29

[xchrom]

1. Love oysters & oyster farmers. Very sad. Nt

[txlibdem]

2. Thanks to Big Coal

I'm so glad that we have coal power plants...

[pscot]

3. Hood Canal has been anoxic for years

There are thousands of septic tanks leaking into the Canal and people refuse to allow inspections for fear it might cost them a few bucks and interfere with their god-given right to shit in the water supply.

[txlibdem]

4. Pardon the pun but that's a mere drop in the bucket compared to what Big Coal does to the water

YOu should read up a bit on it. It'll open your eyes.

[NickB79]

5. Anoxic isn't the same as acidic

Not to say that pumping raw sewage into the ocean is anything other than a disaster, but ocean acidification is MUCH, MUCH worse because a) it's a global problem, and b) you can't stop it by just fixing a few septic systems or pipes.