“Pakistan, Thailand, the Philippines, Iran, and China are among the top 50 nations whose food security may be threatened by the effects that the rise of manmade carbon-dioxide (CO2) gas emissions are already starting to have on fish and shellfish, according to a new report by Oceana, an international ocean conservation organization,” Michael D. Lemonick reports for Climate Central September 24, 2012.

Lemonick references a new report from Oceana, Ocean Based Food Security Threatened in a High CO2 World.

Oceana, according to its website was “… founded in 2001, is the largest international organization focused solely on ocean conservation. Our offices in North America, South America and Europe work together on a limited number of strategic, directed campaigns to achieve measurable outcomes that will help return our oceans to former levels of abundance. We believe in the importance of science in identifying problems and solutions. Our scientists work closely with our teams of economists, lawyers and advocates to achieve tangible results for the oceans.”

The report notes,

Emissions from human activities are changing the
ocean’s chemistry and temperature1, 2 in ways that
threaten the livelihoods of those who depend on fish
and seafood for all or part of their diets. The changes
may reduce the amount of wild caught seafood that
can be supplied by the oceans3 and also redistribute
species, changing the locations at which seafood can
be caught4 and creating instability for ocean-based
food security, or seafood security. This report ranks
nations based on the seafood security hardships they
may experience by the middle of this century due
to changing ocean conditions from climate change
and ocean acidification. This is done by combining
each nation’s exposure to climate change and ocean
acidification, its dependence on and consumption
of fish and seafood and its level of adaptive capacity
based on several socioeconomic factors. Country
rankings are developed for risks from climate change
and ocean acidification independently, as well as
from both problems combined…

…The severity of future changes in ocean conditions will
depend largely on the choices we make regarding energy use
in the upcoming years and decades. Fish and seafood could
be important contributors toward feeding a growing global
population if we keep these resources safe. To protect this
important source of food security we need to do more than just
improve fisheries management. We also must protect the oceans
from climate change and ocean acidification by dramatically
reducing carbon dioxide emissions from our use of fossil fuels
and rapidly transitioning to a clean energy economy.

Categories: Condition of Oceans, Coral Reefs, Fisheries, Ocean acidification, Saving the Oceans

Tags: Coral, Coral Reef, Crab Pots, Dead Zones, Environment, nature, ocean acidification, Oceans