Ocean Acidification May be a Huge Risk to Alaska Shellfish Hatcheries

Ocean acidification may take a huge toll on shellfish hatcheries. Researchers have discovered that ocean acidification may make it difficult for Alaskan coastal waters to support shellfish hatcheries by 2040 unless costly mitigation efforts are installed to modify seawater used in the hatcheries.

"Our research shows there could be significant effects from ocean acidification on Alaska's emerging shellfish hatchery industry in a matter of two and a half decades," said Jeremy Mathis, co-author of the new study, in a news release. "We need to continue to partner with industry and other stakeholders to make sure we're providing the environmental intelligence needed by industry to answer key questions and make decisions to meet these challenges."

As more carbon dioxide enters our atmosphere, more enters our ocean waters. When carbon dioxide combines with saltwater, it causes the water to acidify. This, in turn, causes shellfish to unable to build and maintain their shells properly.

In this latest study, a team of scientists monitored seawater chemistry over a 10-month period from October 2013 to August 2014 to measure the potential effects of changing ocean chemistry on the growth of oyster, clam, scallop and other shellfish larvae or seed.

So what did they find? The ocean chemistry off of Seward, Alaska, fluctuates significantly by season. In addition, under some predicted scenarios for carbon dioxide emissions the five-month window for growing shellfish could close as early as 2040. This means that the shellfish hatchery would then only be able to produce viable shellfish seed if it installed costly migration efforts to modify ocean water entering the facility.

"A key to tracking ocean acidification and its effects is our ability to make continuous robust measurements of the carbonate system in hatchery settings to understand how it varies over time," said Wiley Evans, one of the researchers. "We've come a long way in our ability to monitor ocean acidification."

The findings reveal a bit more about what may happen in the future. This is increasingly important to note for shellfish fisheries.

The findings are published in the journal PLOS One.

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