January 21, 2015 — The additional acid makes it difficult for some species of marine animals to develop the shells they need to survive.
In the icy waters of midcoast Maine, Bill Mook has his eyes on his oysters – and how the waters they need to survive are gradually, but clearly, changing.
Down the coast near Portland, the issue is clams and the mud flats that have become inhospitable to their survival.
Farther south still, near Cape Cod in Massachusetts, the worry is so-called “sea butterflies,” tiny marine snails that live low on the food chain and are – like the oysters and clams – threatened by a process known as “ocean acidification.”
“We’re acidifying the oceans,” said Mark Green, a professor of environmental science at Saint Joseph’s College in Maine. “We don’t know exactly what’s going to survive and what’s not, but there will be extinctions.”
Ocean acidification is sometimes referred to as “the other carbon dioxide problem,” and it’s exactly what the name implies: the gradual increase of acid in the world’s waters. It’s fueled by the burning of fossil fuels and the massive amounts of carbon that releases. A good chunk of that is absorbed by the world’s oceans, making the water more acidic.
Additional acid makes it hard for some species to develop the shells they need to survive. And that’s instilled fear in government and fisheries leaders around the country.
Read the full story at CentralMaine.com