5-Year Study Shows Ocean Acidificaton Bulding More Quickly In Puget Sound Than Elsewhere On Coast
A five-year study released Wednesday shows that ocean acidification is getting worse in Puget Sound and needs drastic action to stop the trend. Around the same time the study began, oysters set off an alarm at Baywater Shellfish Farm in Port Ludlow, owned by Joth Davis.
"It's been a struggle to get what we need. Eventually, more or less we make it by the end of the season, but it's a real struggle," he said. Davis is one of many around Puget Sound dealing with ocean acidification. As carbon in the air gets trapped in the water, shellfish have a hard time growing a shell. "We are still having problems at the larval level, and that's impacting the availability of oyster seed when people want it. It's a lot tougher to raise oysters than it used to be," Davis said.
The study shows it's worsening more quickly in Puget Sound than on Washington's coast. The southern Hood Canal area is hardest hit.
"Ocean acidification threatens Washington shellfish, fisheries industries, and the coastal communities that depend on them," stated Governor Jay Inslee in a statement released with the report. "Our state is on the front lines of responding to these threats through the leadership of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification and the Marine Resources Advisory Council. We must keep up the momentum and leadership and continue to take bold action to protect these resources for future generations."
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