NCSE: Hanging in the pH Balance? Ocean Acidification Impacts on Food Security

Speakers: 
1. Dr. Carol Turley, Senior Scientist, Plymouth Marine Laboratory
2. Dr. Scott Doney, Senior Scientist, Marine Chemistry & Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
3. Dr. William Cheung, Assistant Professor (National Geographic Fellow), University of British Columbia, Vancouver
4. Dr. Charles Colgan, Chair/Professor, Community Planning & Development Program, Public Policy and Management, University of Southern Maine

Summary: Marine protein contributes substantially to global food security. Fish and shellfish contribute 15 percent of animal protein for three billion people worldwide, according to a recent FAO analysis. Ocean acidification, caused by increasing levels of dissolved CO2 in seawater, poses an increasing threat to the continued availability of marine protein as a food source. Caused both by atmospheric and land-based drivers, acidification presents an emerging challenge to coastal communities and economies worldwide. Acidification affects the growth and survival of many marine organisms, especially in larval stages. It also interferes with the ability of shell building marine species (including plankton) to develop and sustain calcified skeletons, with clear implications for shellfish and coral reef-dependent resources.

Research on how acidification will affect food webs and ecosystems is still in its early stages. But several new studies suggest potentially striking implications for food security. For example, one recent study assessed nations’ vulnerability to decreases in shellfish harvest due to ocean acidification by comparing
both their nutritional and economic dependence on the resource. The study found that certain regions could experience significant impacts as early as the next decade.

This session at the National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) meeting on Jan. 18, 2012 in Washington, D.C. presented leading science on how ocean acidification is likely to affect food security. Scientists discussed new research on the consequences for both shellfish and finfish resources, along with analyses that can help communities and economies prepare for acidifying conditions.