Chesapeake Bay Acidification
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Acidification Network (CBAN), modeled on efforts such as the California Current and Northeast Coastal
Acidification Networks (CCAN and NECAN, respectively) elsewhere in the country.
The workshop was held at an opportune time because the Maryland General Assembly was considering a
bill to create a task force to evaluate the effects of acidification in Chesapeake Bay and other state waters.
House Bill 118 was passed by both chambers of the Maryland Legislature in April and approved by the
Governor in May 2014.The proposed task force will be composed of members from state agencies,
representatives from the aquaculture industry and waterman’s associations, and the National Aquarium
and University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, with staff support from the Maryland
Department of Natural Resources (MD DNR). Maryland follows Maine as the second state on the east
coast to pursue legislation aimed at understanding the effects of acidification on the natural resources of
coastal ocean ecosystems.
B
ACKGROUND
At the federal level, the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring (FOARAM) Act of 2009
(P.L. 111-11) is currently the single most important law focused on ocean acidification in the United
States. FOARAM is aimed at supporting research and monitoring of acidification in the waters of the U.S.
and seeks to evaluate the possible effects on the nation’s fisheries and natural resources. In addition to
authorizing federal funding across multiple federal agencies, FOARAM established the National
Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s Ocean Acidification Program. In March 2014, a
Strategic Plan for Federal Research and Monitoring of Ocean Acidification, prepared by the Interagency
Working Group on Ocean Acidification, was released. Among many recommendations, the strategic plan
suggests the following:
“A successful strategy for ocean acidification research requires special attention to
integrated efforts, regionally, nationally, and internationally. Effective management of
marine resources in response to ocean acidification will require researchers viewing their
contributions in a broader perspective, but there is also clearly a need for research on
issues such as vulnerable and economically important species to be conducted at regional
scales.”
“For shallow water coastal and estuarine environments and areas inaccessible by open-
ocean ships, a similar sampling strategy, as outlined for the open-ocean carbon
measurements, is recommended, but at much higher temporal and spatial resolution than
for the open ocean. These activities will be integrated with ongoing ship-based surveys in
coastal areas, but at higher frequencies as required (hourly for time-series measurements).
Federal agencies should encourage state and regional entities, including the tribal nations,
to add ocean acidification monitoring to the existing coastal and estuarine water quality
monitoring programs. This monitoring may also lead to development of acidification
source budgets for these waters which are heavily influenced by land-based activities
(Feely et al., 2012).”
Such recommendations are consistent with the collaborative local and regional approaches to research and
monitoring that are necessary for understanding acidification in Chesapeake Bay.
Abrupt and extensive oyster spat production failures in shellfish hatcheries of the Pacific Northwest in
2005-2009, believed linked to acidification of coastal waters, prompted Washington State to convene a
blue ribbon panel of experts to investigate the phenomenon. The panel explored causes and trends of
