Stakeholders want more examinations of Mid-Atlantic OA

GALLOWAY — The levels of ocean acid are higher along the coastal waters of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast than they are in along southern Atlantic coasts, which puts one of New Jersey’s growing industries at risk.

That’s a concern of regional marine scientists and other stakeholders across the Mid-Atlantic, who want to pull together to create a team to study and address the problem.

“We need to pull together in order to find solutions that reduce the impacts of ocean acidification on our ecosystems and shellfish industry,” said Dr. Peter Rowe, NJSGC’s director of research and extension.

They gathered at Stockton University in August for a discussion — organized in part by the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium —with experts and stakeholders about the current state of New Jersey’s coastal waters and what threats OA, as it is called, poses to the Mid-Atlantic.

 As oceans become more acidic, the nutrients available to shellfish become sparse. They can’t grow shells, or their shells become too weak.

The destructive potential for OA, as it is called, is a huge problem for the shellfish industry in the Northwest.

Between 2005 and 2009 shellfish production collapsed by 80 percent, according to a PBS report. In Washington State the industry is worth $270 million and employs thousands of people.

Daniel Cohen theowner of Atlantic Capes Fisheries, said that the Pacific Ocean acidification brought the indutry to its knees. Oysterman were hauling in 600 to 700 bushels of oysters with a value of $60 million, but that dropped to zero, he said.

“Research on ocean acidification and shellfish is just beginning here in New Jersey, and there are no indications of a serious problem at this time,” said Lisa Calvo, the New Jersey Sea Grant aquaculture specialist.

In New Jersey, shellfish harvesting has grown from $98.65 million in 2003 to $159 million in 2012, according to NOAA figures. And commercial fishing in general employed more than 50,000 people in 2012, and was worth $2.87 billion across all sectors.

Beyond the economic benefits of shellfish, they are critical to the environment.

To that end, several environmental groups have been working to rebuild shellfish reefs in Barnegat Bay, and the state Senate has approved a law that would open closed waters in Raritan and Sandy Hook bays to rebuilding oyster reefs for research purposes. The law has not passed the Legislature because a similar law has not yet recieved approval in the General Assembly.

And, Calvo, at the Rutgers Haskin Shellfish Laboratory, coordinates Project PORTS, or Promoting Oyster Restorarion Through Schools, which is an effort to build an artificial oyster reef in protected Delaware Bay waters.

“Oysters are filter feeders, they consume phytoplankton from the water and as they filter their food from the water they improve water quality. This is one of the most important ecological services that oysters provide,” Calvo explained. “ Additionally oysters form reefs as generations of oysters settle on one another. The oyster reefs serve as important habitat for many fish species and crabs.”