For additional information, contact:

• John Foxwell, President at 503-924-4704
• Sara Moore, Speaker Chair at 503-939-1474
  

TOPIC:    The Pacific Northwest Oyster Seed Shortage and Ocean Acidification

Ocean Acidification is caused by elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations and is a growing worldwide environmental concern. In the Pacific Northwest, the commercial oyster industry relies both on natural and hatchery-produced oyster “seed” or juveniles to grow to market size. In 2006-2007, significant failures of hatchery-reared oyster larvae resulted in seed shortages for growers throughout the region, and at the same time, there was a decline in natural recruitment of oysters in Willapa Bay, Washington (a major site of natural recruitment).  By 2008, the low natural recruitment put Whiskey Creek Shellfish Hatchery in Netarts, Oregon (a major supplier of larvae) on the verge of economic collapse.  In 2009, hatchery personnel working with researchers at Oregon State University identified correlations between larval condition and the acidity of water entering the hatchery. Subsequent work with OSU researchers identified a strong link between larval production and high CO2 water related to coastal upwelling along the Oregon Coast. The ongoing relationship between OSU researchers and the shellfish industry represents a successful industry-academic collaboration resulting in a stable, yet still diminished, oyster industry.

The presentation will be in two parts, first the hatchery production perspective by Mr. Barton, discussing the lessons learned by the industry and ongoing efforts to help restore and increase hatchery production of larval oysters. Second, Dr. Waldbusser will present on the broader scientific issues of ocean acidification and our evolving understanding of organism responses to ocean acidification in coastal and estuarine environments. 

THE PRESENTERS
Alan Barton, M.S., Project Coordinator, Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association Monitoring Program

Mr. Barton has been working in shellfish aquaculture since 2004, and was responsible for initially identifying the link between hatchery failures and upwelling of high CO2 seawater at Whiskey Creek Shellfish Hatchery. He is lead author on a paper recently accepted for publication in Limnology and Oceanography which documents these results, providing one of the only peer-reviewed publications to illustrate organism responses to high CO2 in the natural environment. Mr. Barton received his M.S. in Marine Science from the University of Georgia in 2002, and is currently serving as Project Coordinator for the Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association (PCSGA) Monitoring Program, an initiative established in 2010.

George G. Waldbusser, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Oregon State University

Dr. Waldbusser has been examining the effects of acidification on coastal and estuarine bivalves for over 5 years and is currently managing a National Science Foundation grant to understand the mechanisms of bivalve responses to ocean acidification. He has published several high impact papers on the relationships among organisms, biogeochemistry, and ecosystem health. Dr. Waldbusser obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland in 2008 in Marine and Estuarine Environmental Science, and began his position in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at OSU in 2009.     

Download the forum announcement here.

For additional information, contact:

• Sara Moore, Speaker Chair at 503-939-1474