Manmade greenhouse gas to increase cost of fish

The price of fish is headed up as the oceans' acidity rises.
Marisa Garrido/ marisadechile

For many people it’s hard to make a personal connection to global warming, greenhouse gases and their own lives. For those who buy fish at the supermarket that connection is about to become much clearer as the price of Pacific Salmon and other marine fish is on the rise due to excessive man-made greenhouse gases being absorbed by the oceans. The greenhouse gas that is causing the problem in this case is carbon dioxide or CO2.

The oceans have long acted as a safety valve for CO2 emissions, absorbing from the atmosphere and effectively sequestering it. Now, however, the oceans are reaching a level of saturation that is altering their acidity. Normally, ocean water is alkaline with a pH of a little over 8.1 (7.0 is neutral). When carbon dioxide is added to ocean water, a chemical reaction occurs and carbonic acid is created. The more carbonic acid that is created in the ocean, the lower the pH becomes. So what?

The reason that this is a concern is that fish and other marine organisms have evolved to live in ocean water of higher alkalinity. As the pH drops, the oceans themselves become a more and more toxic environment to fish and shellfish. As any saltwater aquarium enthusiast knows, an acidic environment interferes with the creation of shells for oysters, clams, lobsters, crabs, and many other creatures that we use as food, not to mention the development of calciferous corals, the building blocks of coral reefs. Much of the zooplankton and other small shelled sea creatures that larger fish eat are similarly affected, resulting in lower fish populations.

This effect appears to be reaching a critical point in cold Alaskan waters that have historically been a rich fishing ground for salmon and other food fish. In 2002, according to the Alaska State Chamber of Commerce, Alaskan waters provided half of all the fish harvested in the USA. In economic terms, that amounted to $955 million dollars worth of fish, priced as it is sold off the fishing ships. According to a recent Reuters report, Alaskan fishermen are reporting that the salmon they are catching are weighing in 20% lighter than the usual weight. Mark Vinsel of United Fishermen of Alaska told Reuters “It's dire, and it's a big concern.”

Because cold water holds more carbon dioxide than warm water, Alaska and other Arctic Ocean waters are being affected first, but other prime US and global fishing grounds are in line for similar troubles as the acidification of the world’s oceans continues. The pain of the Alaskan fishing industry will turn into pain for the American consumer as they see rising prices at the fish counter in their local supermarket. More of the fish that is available will likely be coming from foreign imports as America’s richest fishing grounds in Alaska become more and more acidic and less and less habitable for fish.

The Maritime Headlines Examiner is also the Manchester Bird Watching Examiner.

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