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Puget Sound and the Salish Sea are on the leading edge of an ocean acidification crisis that could devastate West Coast fisheries within decades. The study found that below 50 meters depth, ocean carbon dioxide levels in the California Current have outpaced the rise in atmospheric CO2 by 50% over the 20th century. The accelerating acidification has direct consequences for marine life, and the people who depend on it. “Marine organisms that make shells or skeletons, whether that’s oysters, crabs, corals, they rely on having the right ocean chemistry around them,” Gagnon said. “And as that ocean chemistry changes because of us, it makes it a lot harder for them to grow.” The study specifically calls out Dungeness crab, the largest fishery on the West Coast by revenue, as facing reduced growth and survival in early life stages as acidification worsens. Shellfish industries along the coast are already feeling early impacts, researchers say. Under a high-emissions scenario, the study projects that by the end of the 21st century, pH levels in the subsurface California Current could drop by 0.30, equivalent to the total projected change for the global surface ocean, while some areas could see pH levels as low as 7.5. submitted by /u/firefox1216 |
