Ocean acidity has increased by 30 per cent since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and the rate of acidification will accelerate in the coming decades, according to a new guide launched at the UN Copenhagen Climate Change summit today.
The results could spell disaster for critical parts of the marine food chain, with knock-on consequences for fishing communities and the global fishing industry, and wide-scale destruction of marine reefs.
Sponsored by Natural England, the European Project on Ocean Acidification’s (EPOCA) guide called ‘Ocean Acidification: The Facts’ highlights the severity of an underwater time-bomb that could have massive implications for marine wildlife and the health of the marine environment.
Dr Helen Phillips, Chief Executive of Natural England, said: “Acidification of our seas is being directly linked to the growing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and our oceans are struggling to cope. The threat to the delicate balance of the marine environment cannot be overstated - this is a conservation challenge of unprecedented scale and highlights the urgent need for effective marine management and protection.”
The EPOCA guide to ‘Ocean Acidification: The Facts’ reveals that:
• The current rate of ocean acidification is many times faster than anything experienced over the last 55 million years
• Underwater reefs may be severely affected. More acidic sea water harms the ability of many ocean animals and plants to build skeletons or shells, disrupting their role as reef builders and removing essential primary food sources for marine wildlife. By 2050, conditions for warm water coral reefs will be marginal, compromising the reefs’ ability to protect low-lying areas from erosion and flooding
• Acidic sea water may be corrosive enough to kill oyster larvae in hatcheries and other shallower marine habitats and species closer to the coast
• Economic interests and food security are at risk, particularly in regions especially dependent on seafood protein.
Natural England’s Professor Dan Laffoley, co-editor of the guide and also Marine Vice-Chair of IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas, said: “Ocean acidification only really came to the fore about five years ago, and yet already an amazing number of scientific statements are being published worldwide, showing a real depth of concern about this issue. As acidity and sea temperature increase, the ocean’s ability to absorb atmospheric CO2 will be reduced, exacerbating the rate of climate change. Much is unknown about the impacts but one possible consequence is that this could trigger a chain reaction that reverberates throughout the marine food web…starting with vulnerable species such as larval fish and shell fish, and ending with detrimental effects to the global fishing industry and the food security of many of the world’s poorest people.”
