OSLO – U.S. shellfish producers in the Northeast and the Gulf of Mexico will be most vulnerable to an acidification of the oceans linked to climate change that makes it harder for clams and oysters to build shells, a study said on Monday.
The report said the two regions would be more at risk in coming decades than the Pacific Northwest, which had previously suffered the most from the problem, with losses to the oyster industry estimated at $110 million, putting 3,200 jobs at risk.
Carbon dioxide, emitted into the atmosphere by mankind's burning of fossil fuels, gets absorbed by the oceans where it forms a weak acid. That undermines the ability of creatures from corals to lobsters to grow protective shells.
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