Ocean Acidification Threatens Food Security

Dec. 8, 2010 /EIN Presswire/ - The increasing acidification of the seas could harm fishery production and has already started the most dramatic shift in ocean chemistry in 65 million years, according to a U.N. report.

According to the report, such sea life as mussels, lobsters and shrimp could become endangered because the acidification will make it more difficult for them to form protective shells. It could also damage coral reefs, which are the breeding grounds for many ocean organisms.

The scientific conclusions of the U.N. report says the changes threaten food security, adding to the ongoing problems of overfishing and pollution. About 25 percent of the world's greenhouse gases are absorbed by the seas, creating excessive carbonic acid and interfering with ocean life.

Nearly a billion people worldwide rely on fish as their main source of protein.

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