EPA Research Partner Support Story: Coastal acidification effects on fisheries
Partners: Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and Tillamook Estuaries Partnership (TEP)
Challenge: Acidification in estuaries threatening shellfish fisheries
Resource: Providing science to support the states in assessing impacts of coastal acidification
Project Period: 2017 – Present
Increasing acidification of offshore ocean waters is threatening recreational and commercial fisheries. Governors of California, Oregon, and Washington have joined with stakeholders (state, tribal, federal, watershed councils, the aquaculture industry, and universities) through the Pacific Coast Collaborative to develop coordinated solutions to address the adverse effects of ocean acidification. In Oregon, the Oregon Coast Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia Workgroup formed to advance recommendations from the Collaborative. Oregon DEQ invited EPA scientists to be members of the Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia Technical Workgroup (link to workgroup) The workgroup is assisting Oregon DEQ to develop ocean acidification and marine dissolved oxygen assessment methodologies (link to report) for future Clean Water Act integrated reports.
“ORD scientists have collaborated with TEP and local partners to address global issues like [Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia] at a local level, making our communities and economies less vulnerable to future challenges and changes. Together, we are working to protect species that rely on the estuaries for their survival, including oysters, Dungeness crabs and threatened coho salmon.” – Tillamook Estuaries Partnership Executive Director Kristi Foster. PhD
In addition to participating in the interagency workgroups, EPA scientists are conducting research on how excess nutrients contribute to the acidification of estuarine waters. They are exploring the use of seagrass meadows as a resource to help reduce the effects of acidification to shellfish and developing a coastal acidification indicator for the National Coastal Condition Assessment. Since 2017, Agency scientists, in collaboration with the Tillamook Estuaries Partnership, have been monitoring coastal acidification in the Tillamook Estuary. Data from the monitoring effort have already contributed to two publications (and several others in the works): 1) a paper comparing coastal acidification across National Estuary Program sites and (2) an EPA report focused on challenges and solutions associated with monitoring acidification in estuaries. The research is being conducted at EPA’s Pacific Coastal Ecology Laboratory in Newport, OR and in Tillamook Bay—the site of Oregon’s largest inshore shellfisheries. The results of this research will provide state agencies with tools to reduce the causes and effects of acidification in Pacific Northwest estuaries, thereby enhancing the environment and economies that depend on the shellfisheries.