The Ocean Foundation: International Ocean Acidification Initiative

Fighting ocean acidification to restore marine species and protect coastal communities.

The Problem

In addition to trapping heat and boosting temperatures, carbon dioxide produced by the burning of fossil fuels dissolves into the ocean, which as a result is 30 percent more acidic than it was 200 years ago. Ocean acidification may be invisible, but its impacts are not. The health and survival of shellfish and coral, fish and sharks, as well as the coastal communities that depend on the ocean, are threatened.

The Solution

The Ocean Foundation has been fighting ocean acidification since 2003, employing a four-part approach: monitoring our oceans to better understand how, where, and how quickly the change is occurring; analyzing and predicting the effects of acidification; engaging with stakeholders including fishers, shellfish farmers and policy makers in coastal communities affected by acidification; and acting to craft and promote legal protections at local, national and international level that mitigate ocean acidification and help communities adapt. As the organization’s web site puts it, “We cannot act if we don’t engage, and we cannot engage if we don’t understand.”