Acidic West Coast Ocean Waters Killing Millions of Scallops Off B.C. Coast

Acidic West Coast Ocean Waters Killing Millions of Scallops

Restaurant goers are likely to see less dishes featuring fresh scallops on the menu, thanks to rising acidity levels in West Coast ocean waters that is causing a dramatic die-off of millions of scallops. An estimated ten million scallops off the coast of Qualicum Beach are no longer suitable for harvesting thanks to the increasing acidity of the Pacific Ocean waters.

“For at least a year, probably even a little bit longer, we have not been able to obtain them, so we’ve been carrying the east coast [ones],” said Catherine Yamamoto from Wheelhouse Seafoods in Vancouver.

Scientists claim that carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere caused by humans have been absorbed into ocean waters since 2004 and have reached the point where the water is no longer a suitable habitat for many shellfish. One marine ecologist said that the waters along the coast of the Pacific Northwest have become a “hot spot” of dangerously high ocean acidity levels.

Although ocean waters normally measure around 8.2 pH level, water pH level measurement around Qualicum Beach has dropped to 7.2, meaning a much higher acidity.

The higher the acidity level of the water, the less ability that growing scallops have to form the protective shell around themselves that they need to thrive. Not only are the scallops becoming more vulnerable to predators before reaching the adult stage, they are also being subjected to more infections and rendered inedible.

The problem has become so drastic that Island Scallops, one of the major scallop vendors on Nainamo, has been forced to shutter its operations and lay off about one-third of its employees.

The scallop production from this one plant alone accounts for about 16 percent of the total shellfish volume that is produced by British Columbian processing plants.

“It’s much much more acidic than we expected,” said Rob Saunders, the CEO of Island Scallops.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is working with producers to develop research strategies to pinpoint the issue.

In a statement they said:

“A change in pH could impact these species’ ability to react and adjust to their environment, and could have considerable impact on biodiversity.”

Eight years ago Chinese scallop processing plants reported a similar die-off and hatcheries in Washington State are also reporting difficulty in getting baby scallops to thrive in increasingly acidic ocean waters.

On The Web:

Acidic water blamed for West Coast scallop die-off
http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Acidic+water+blamed+West+Coast+scallop/9550861/story.html

Millions of scallops dying off B.C. coast

Millions of scallops dying off B.C. coast