August 27, 2018 — As New York’s oyster industry makes a comeback, the state is gearing up to study how changes in ocean chemistry caused by man-made climate change might threaten oysters and the rest of New York’s multi-billion dollar marine industry.
About a third of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is absorbed into the oceans, where it is converted into carbonic acid. This is causing a gradual, steady increase in ocean acidity levels, which are now about 30 percent higher than at the start of the Industrial Revolution.
Rising acidity levels are a threat to oysters, clams, corals and other aquatic creatures that make shells, since this increase also causes a decline in carbonate ions, which are a critical chemical building block of shell formation.
Last week, the state Department of Environmental Conservation announced creation of a 14-member task force to examine ocean acidification, which is a consequence of past and ongoing emissions of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels.
DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said it will “ensure that the best available science is used to assess and respond to this emerging threat to our coastal waters and fisheries.” He said marine resources support the jobs of about 350,000 state residents.
“Ocean acidification has a dramatic effect on species such as shell fish, including oysters and clams, as well as corals and even plankton. It puts the entire food chain at risk from plankton to whales,” said Chris Thorncroft, chairman of the University at UAlbany Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences.