Protecting Livelihoods<\/strong> Turning on the Lights<\/strong> When you\u2019re fighting to protect your livelihood, nothing beats knowing what you\u2019re up against. Armed with high-precision monitoring data, shellfish farmers learned that they faced a grave threat from rising CO2<\/sub> pollution, a problem they could not tackle alone. So they became leaders in the global race to tackle ocean acidification (OA) while there\u2019s still time. They championed our proposal to create Washington\u2019s Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification<\/a>. They set out to advance policies to reduce pollution\u2014testifying for stronger policies in state capitals, Washington DC , and even the United Nations.<\/p>\n We\u2019re now working with fishermen, growers, seafood buyers, coastal leaders, and scientists around the world to help them document impacts, adapt, and develop their own approaches to tackle the causes and consequences of OA.<\/p>\n Protecting Seafood Supplies<\/strong> For now, the only proven adaptation method for seafood production is extremely limited: we can protect a few cubic feet of water in hatchery spawning tanks, enabling the vulnerable young shellfish to survive. That\u2019s only a start. To build on it, we assemble partnerships between producers and scientists to \u201cfuture-proof\u201d shellfish\u00a0culture systems and other susceptible species\u00a0for a changing ocean.<\/p>\n Protecting the Ocean<\/strong> Protecting Livelihoods In the late 2000s, shellfish growers saw their future collapsing as new-hatched oysters died by the billions in CO2-acidified waters in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. We raised more than $100,000 to sustain the crucial monitoring and adaptation effort … Continue reading
\nIn the late 2000s, shellfish growers saw their future collapsing as new-hatched oysters died by the billions in CO2<\/sub>-acidified waters in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. We raised more than $100,000 to sustain the crucial monitoring and adaptation effort that kept them in business. Today 3,200 workers still have jobs because shellfish hatcheries have learned to avoid exposing vulnerable young livestock to lethal waters by working closely with scientists to develop extraordinary measures to detect, dodge, and treat seawater. Their data delivered a painful lesson: the waters that nourished abundant oysters, clams, and mussels for many generations on this coast have turned \u201ccorrosive\u201d to these animals in their first days of life.<\/p>\n
\nWhen emergency federal funds that supported their monitoring and adaptation efforts began running out, Pacific Northwest shellfish producers asked us to help. We were able to plug the funding gap (thanks to support from the Educational Foundation of America) while hatchery managers and scientists teamed up to sleuth out the mechanisms of harm and refine the tools to keep shellfish farmers in business. Not coincidentally, this work made the growers into sure-footed witnesses for ocean health.<\/p>\n
\nAs pollution erodes the ocean\u2019s capacity to produce fish and shellfish, consumers and suppliers around the world face rising risks.\u00a0 An estimated 3 billion people depend on seafood for nearly one fifth of their animal protein, valued at $217.5 billion, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization<\/a>.\u00a0 From the fishing deck to the dinner table, the seafood industry supports more than 1 million U.S. jobs, according to NOAA<\/a>. We work to protect this bounty and the healthy marine waters that sustain it.<\/p>\n
\nBecause the chemistry of the whole ocean is changing, we also work to widen the sphere of protection, developing tools for local remediation of acidified waters and management of \u201cchemical refuges\u201d in coastal ecosystems where marine vegetation may be able to draw down CO2<\/sub> concentrations enough to shelter vulnerable calcifiers. We build partnerships to test new approaches for conservation and management of vegetated ecosystems that can purify water and bury carbon. We work with industry and local partners to help them stand up for the science funding that\u2019s needed to get a grip on\u00a0OA and its impacts. And we provide our partners with actionable intelligence and support to bring the causes of this gathering crisis under control through stronger pollution and energy policies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"