Mollusc mariculture, a critical global source of high-quality protein, is increasingly threatened by seawater acidification. While climate-driven ocean acidification (OA) has been widely studied, intensive aquaculture systems face an additional, locally exacerbated phenomenon: biogenic acidification. In this review, we comprehensively compare biogenic acidification with OA and other seawater acidification types, highlighting its occurrence across various aquaculture systems and its capacity to induce conditions more corrosive than end-of-century OA projections under densely stocked settings. Driven by the respiration and calcification of high-density mollusc populations, biogenic acidification leads to distinct alterations in the carbonate chemistry of mollusc farming systems—notably a reduction in total alkalinity (TA)—that are mechanistically different from OA. We further discuss how biogenic acidification imposes stronger physiological stresses on molluscs, impairing calcification, growth, and energy allocation, and how it synergistically interacts with climate change. Finally, we propose practical mitigation strategies, including TA supplementation and integrated multi-trophic aquaculture, to enhance the resilience and sustainability of mollusc farming. This review underscores the necessity to address biogenic acidification as a distinct and ongoing challenge in global mariculture.
Li J., Mao Y., Xue S., Zhu L., Li A., Liu L., Liu L., Li J., Wang Y., Liu Z. & Shen Z., 2026. Present but overlooked: biogenic acidification in aquaculture waters and its implication for mollusc mariculture. Reviews in Aquaculture 18(4): e70207. doi: 10.1111/raq.70207. Article.
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