In particular, shellfish struggle because this acidification makes it more difficult for them to form their shells. Since shellfish account for almost half of the state’s fishing industry, this could have both economic as well as ecological consequences. 

And we’re still not sure how other marine life may be affected by ocean acidification, but it’s likely to dramatically change our relationship with the ocean and have huge impacts on fishing.

To talk more about these issues, we’re hosting a live panel discussion on offshore wind and fisheries on Thursday, January 30th at District Hall in Providence. Information and RSVP.

We want to include your questions about wind energy and fisheries in the discussion. Use the form below to ask your question.

Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems, like the future of our planet. And break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall. This month, we’re gearing up for a community discussion about how offshore wind and fisheries might coexist in Rhode Island. But first, we wanted to talk about another issue that’s affecting the fishing industry–the water in the ocean is becoming more acidic.  

We had Alina Kulman and Colleen Keenan from our Possibly team look into this issue.

Welcome Alina and Colleen. 

Alina Kulman: Hi Megan.

Colleen Keenan: Hello.

Megan Hall: So, what’s happening to the ocean?

Alina Kulman: Well, more than a quarter of the carbon dioxide emissions we send into the air gets absorbed by the ocean. And all of that excess carbon dioxide is changing the chemistry of the water. 

Colleen Keenan: It’s a process scientists call “Ocean Acidification.”   

Megan Hall: Should we be worried about these changes in the water?

Alina Kulman: Well, to figure that out, we talked to Tim Herbert, a professor of earth science and oceanography at Brown University.

Colleen Keenan: He says these changes to the chemistry of the ocean are happening really fast. 

Tim Herbert: We strongly suspect that in the history of hundreds of thousands of years, organisms have never experienced a change like this so quickly.

Megan Hall: How does this acidification affect marine life?

Colleen Keenan: Tim says, while some species might be able to adapt to their new environments, others might not be so lucky. 

Tim Herbert: Some organisms are affected a lot more than others by the change in chemistry. We don’t really know the rules of that game yet.”

Alina Kulman: But we DO know that shellfish will struggle as this acidification increases. 

Megan Hall: Why? How will they react to this change? 

Colleen: We performed a little experiment to find out.

Alina Kulman: So this is a small brown and purplish rock and we have a small dropper of hydrochloric acid. 

Colleen Keenan: We used a limestone rock, which is made of materials that are similar to what’s in oyster and clam shells.

Alina Kulman: Now we’re gonna put some drops onto the rock. [fizzing sound]

Colleen Keenan: You can see the acid fizzes and bubbles, and this shows that there’s a reaction going on that actually breaks down the rock itself.

Alina Kulman: Even with all the CO2 we’ve added to the ocean, the water still isn’t as acidic as the stuff we had in our dropper. But as the acidity increases, it will be harder for oysters and clams to form their shells.  

Megan Hall: So how will this affect fisheries in Rhode Island?

Colleen Keenan: Well, shellfish account for almost half of the state’s fishing industry, so there could be ecological and economic consequences if the acidity of the water continues to rise.

Alina Kulman: And who knows how other marine life will be affected—Tim says there’s a whole ecosystem at stake.

Tim Herbert: We should be very careful whether we want to manipulate that system without really understanding what’s gonna happen.

Megan Hall: So what’s the takeaway?

Colleen Keenan: Ocean acidification may be harder to notice than other effects of too many greenhouse gas emissions. It’s not as obvious as an extreme storm or hot day in the winter.  

Alina Kulman: But it is likely to dramatically change our relationship with the ocean, and have huge impacts on fishing.

Megan Hall: Thank you Alina and Colleen. 

Megan Hall: That’s it for today. We’re hosting a live conversation on offshore wind and fisheries on January 30th at District Hall in Providence. The event is free and open to anyone. We hope you’ll join us! To learn more and reserve your seat, go to “the public’s radio dot org slash possibly.”

Possibly is a co-production of the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society and The Public’s Radio

References

1. http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/ioc-oceans/focus-areas/rio-20-ocean/blueprint-for-the-future-we-want/ocean-acidification/facts-and-figures-on-ocean-acidification/

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