GLOBAL fish stocks are being threatened by carbon dioxide ( CO2) emissions, a serious new scientific report has warned.
There have been similar warnings before, but this one is quite different in that it comes from at least 250 scientists from around the world and is the result of an exhaustive eight year study.
Called the Bioacid Project, the report is based in Germany it says that unless something is done more cod, for example, will not reach adulthood. The Bioacid website says that research on ocean acidification has seen remarkable development over the past decade and has become one of the fastest growing fields of marine science research . It was one of the top three global research priorities
The BBC website said today that a brochure summarising the main outcomes will be presented to climate negotiators at their annual meeting, which this year is taking place in Bonn in November.
The Biological Impacts of Ocean Acidification report authors say some creatures may benefit directly from the chemical changes – but even these could still be adversely affected indirectly by shifts in the whole food web.
What is more, the research shows that changes through acidification will be made worse by climate change, pollution, coastal development, over-fishing and agricultural fertilisers.
The report says that ocean acidification is largely caused by CO2 from fossil fuels dissolving in seawater and producing carbonic acid and this lowers the hydrogen ion concentration (pH) of the water.
Since 2009, scientists operative under the Bioacid programme have studied how sea creatures are influenced by acidification during opposite life stages; how these reactions resonate by the sea food web; and either the hurdles can be mitigated by evolutionary adaptation.
Some investigate was finished in the lab but other studies were conducted in the North Sea, the Baltic, the Arctic, and Papua New Guinea.
Länk till nyheten i original: https://www.fishupdate.com/carbon-dioxide-threatening-global-fish-stocks-study/