Seattle Times reporter Craig Welch has this story in today’s edition:

The waters in Puget Sound’s main basin are acidifying as fast as those along the Washington Coast, where wild oysters have not reproduced since 2005.

And in parts of Hood Canal, home to much of the region’s shellfish industry, water-chemistry problems are significantly worse than the rest of Puget Sound.

Scientists from the University of Washington and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned Monday that the changing pH of the seas is hitting Puget Sound harder and faster than many other marine waters.

That increasingly corrosive water — a byproduct of carbon-dioxide releases from industries, power plants and vehicles — is probably already harming shellfish, and over time it could reverberate through the marine food chain.

Full story here.

About Marty McOmber

Marty McOmber is editor and co-founder of Three Sheets Northwest. He is an avid sailor and long-time professional journalist. You can find Marty aboard Three Sheets, an Island Packet 38.

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