Cantwell Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Establish National Ocean Acidification Monitoring Strategy

Press Release

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) introduced a bipartisan bill to enhance ocean monitoring, research and forecasting. The Coordinated Ocean Monitoring and Research Act (S. 1886) would create a national ocean acidification monitoring strategy to prioritize investments in ocean acidification sensors to areas that need it most. The bipartisan bill also directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Science Foundation to make investments in adaptation and mitigation research so we understand how to make our coastal economies more resilient to the threat of ocean acidification.

"Ocean acidification will have a vast impact on commercial and environmental conditions across the nation -- and currently threatens jobs in Washington State. Shellfish in the Pacific Northwest have already been negatively affected, but we don't know yet what this means for salmon populations and larger coastal ecosystems," said Cantwell. "This bill ensures that NOAA is making the appropriate investments in research, and monitoring the ongoing impact of this threat to our coastal economies."

Ocean acidification results from changing ocean chemistry when seawater absorbs increasing amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and it is already negatively impacting coastal economies in Washington state. A recent study in Nature Climate Change identifies communities at significant risk for sustained economic losses resulting from ocean acidification's impact on shellfish fisheries. Communities at the highest risk were found in these 15 states: Massachusetts, New Jersey, Virginia, Washington, Oregon, Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, Maine, Florida, North Carolina, California, Louisiana, Maryland, and Texas. A July 2014 report published in Progress in Oceanography identified seafood jobs across Alaska that could be impacted by ocean acidification, such as king crab and salmon.

The Coordinated Ocean Monitoring and Research Act would require NOAA to build upon these models and conduct a nationwide economic vulnerability assessment to determine the impact ocean acidification would have on our economy, and our coastal ecosystems. The bill would also require NOAA to develop a strategy for the deployment of new ocean acidification sensors -- based on the economic vulnerability assessment. Access to real-time ocean acidification data has been critical for shellfish farmers in Washington state. Enhanced data collection structures included in this legislation is critical for scientists to close knowledge gaps, and help us understand how ocean acidification could impact our fisheries and ecosystems.

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