As the deadline for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals approaches, there is increasing interest in understanding where progress is being made and what practical examples can offer useful lessons. A new, open access article in Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries takes this perspective to the ocean, using the Torres Strait tropical rock lobster fishery in northern Australia as a case study to assess progress toward SDG 14, the goal focused on conserving and sustainably using marine resources.
The fishery is unusual in several respects. Tropical rock lobster (Panulirus ornatus) is a high-value species that supports livelihoods in Torres Strait communities, where Indigenous peoples have managed and depended on marine resources for generations. The fishery is also jointly connected to Australia and Papua New Guinea through the species’ migratory life cycle and shared management arrangements.
Drawing on four decades of scientific monitoring, the authors evaluated progress across all ten SDG 14 targets. Their assessment highlights a combination of factors behind positive outcomes, including long-term ecological surveys, science-based stock assessment, precautionary fisheries management and strong participation from Indigenous fishers and communities. According to the study, the fishery currently meets the SDG 14 targets that can be assessed against present-day conditions and shows substantial progress toward the longer-term aspirational goals for 2030.
Ecological footprint One aspect of the case study that stands out is the fishery’s relatively small ecological footprint. Lobsters are collected by hand rather than through trap-based methods, reducing impacts on habitats and limiting the amount of fishing gear deployed in the environment. The article also describes how monitoring programs have evolved over time, incorporating new technologies and extensive fishery-independent surveys while maintaining continuity in the data needed for management decisions.
The authors are careful not to present the fishery as a finished success story. Some targets remain works in progress, particularly those related to the impacts of ocean acidification, technology transfer and broader international cooperation that can help support sustainable fisheries and market access. The study also notes that external pressures, including marine pollution transported from outside the region and environmental variability affecting lobster recruitment, continue to require attention.
While the findings are specific to Torres Strait, the paper offers a useful example of how sustainability goals can be evaluated using long-term evidence rather than broad assumptions. For researchers working on fisheries, marine conservation, resource management or sustainability policy, it provides a detailed look at how local practices, community engagement and sustained scientific investment can be brought together to track progress toward global environmental objectives.
A lobster in St George, Maine. The crustacean is a tricky test subject, disliking warm seawater and ‘unfortunately, they eat each other.’ Photograph: D Grill/Tetra
Crustaceans are the subject of tests to see if alkalis added to seawater, so it absorbs more CO2, harm marine life. But Trump’s halt to funding threatens to scupper the research
For many in the US region of New England, the lobster roll is synonymous with summertime. Loaded into a toasted bun, chunks of the sweet meat are served hot and soaked in butter, or chilled and slathered in mayonnaise with celery and herbs.
The only thing more debated than the recipe is the price: the once-humble roll now routinely fetches $30 (£22), or even $50, in a sign of the changing times – and seas.
A third-generation lobster fisherman, Scott Lord spendshis days hauling traps on the Gulf of Maine, which is warming faster than 99% of the world’s oceans. “Whether you agree with who says why it’s happening, it is happening,” he says.
Bycatch that was once plentiful, such as sea urchins, sand dollars or starfish, are increasingly rare. And, most concerning, Lord has noticed the number of inshore lobsters dropping dramatically over the past 15 years, pushing fishers farther and farther offshore.
Motivated to find a remedy, Lord joined a regional shellfish committee. “Why are there not clams where there used to be clams? Why are they not coming back, no matter what we do?” he asks.
Hundreds of miles to the south in Massachusetts, on a sandy crook of land that spins out to form Cape Cod, Adam Subhas, a scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, is trying to find the answers.
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Subhas heads LOC-NESS (Locking Ocean Carbon in the North-east Shelf and Slope, an initiative researching how to decarbonise the ocean, also known as marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR). Scientists working in this field are trying to discover whether the ocean, which is estimated to absorb about 31% of atmospheric carbon, could be manipulated to soak up even more.
Proponents say ocean carbon removal could help stop the world from passing the 2C (3.6F)tipping point outlined in the 2016 Paris Agreement, if used in conjunction with the reduction of fossil fuels.
What was once a small-scale idea is rapidly gaining traction. A database newly launched by the Pulitzer Center, Ocean Carbon Removal Watch, which tracks mCDR investments, field trials and research, shows that more than £370m has been invested in the sector over the past five years.
This was initially driven by the private sector but, thanks to a spate of US federal investments in 2023 – totalling at least £44m, according to a Guardian analysis of the database – scientific field trials began to catch up. Until, that is, President Trump announced sweeping cuts to all federally funded ocean sciences.
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“The funding cuts are affecting everyone,” says Subhas.
The automated station, resulting from a participatory budgeting process and an agreement with the Barcelona City Council, records currents, pH, temperature, and real-time meteorological data off this iconic Barcelona beach.
The buoy has been moored approximately 1.5 kilometres from the coastline / ICATMAR.
The Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC), in collaboration with the Catalan Research Institute for Ocean Governance (ICATMAR), has deployed a state-of-the-art automated oceanographic buoy off Barcelona’s Somorrostro beach. This new infrastructure has been designed to monitor a wide range of essential marine parameters in real time, including currents, temperature, salinity, and water pH. Additionally, the device features an integrated weather station that will continuously measure various atmospheric variables directly at the sea surface, serving as a key tool for studying climate change along the Catalan coast.
The action addresses a strategic need to expand permanent observation systems and stems directly from the prior experience gained by ICM-CSIC technical and scientific staff. The institution already had a solid background in this field, thanks to the instrumentation of a signaling buoy in the Medes Islands marine park (Girona) and the installation of a complex mooring system next to the Casablanca oil platform (Tarragona). These prior experiences were fundamental in refining the logistical and technological aspects of this new station, tailoring the design to its specific location to overcome the battery, communication, and security limitations detected in previous infrastructures.
An institutional push driven by public engagement
The feasibility and acquisition of the buoy’s instrumentation were made possible through an institutional collaboration agreement signed between the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), the Barcelona City Council, and the public company Barcelona Cicle de l’Aigua S.A. The origin of this agreement dates back to February 2020, when the city council launched a pioneering citizen participation initiative within the framework of municipal participatory budgeting. Among the winning proposals submitted by residents in the Ciutat Vella district was the initiative titled “BCN pel Mediterrani. Canvi Climàtic” (BCN for the Mediterranean: Climate Change). Aligned with the Climate Emergency Declaration issued by the city of Barcelona in January of that same year, the proposal received a dedicated budget allocation of 200,000 euros, fully earmarked for deploying a buoy to comprehensively monitor coastal acidification in Catalonia.
Since this project fully aligned with the strategic plans of both ICM-CSIC and ICATMAR to roll out permanent coastal monitoring stations, both organizations formed an alliance to pool their resources, infrastructure, and expertise. A multidisciplinary team of technical and scientific staff from ICATMAR, the ICM-CSIC Oceanographic Engineering Service, and other institute departments participated in the development and assembly of the infrastructure. Thanks to this collaborative effort, ICATMAR funded the physical structure and the complex mooring line; the scientific instruments were financed through funds from the City Council and Barcelona Cicle de l’Aigua; and the internal electronics, real-time communication systems, and safety devices were provided directly by ICM-CSIC.
Acidification Monitoring
The location selected for the buoy is no coincidence. It has been moored approximately 1.5 kilometers offshore, directly in front of Somorrostro beach. This point holds significant scientific value for ICM-CSIC, as the research center has been conducting monthly oceanographic sampling here uninterruptedly for over 25 years. The arrival of this automated device represents an extraordinary qualitative leap forward, turning periodic site visits into continuous, automated data collection. The main objective is to establish a high-resolution time series on water acidity off a major metropolitan area like Barcelona, allowing immediate assessment of human impacts on the marine ecosystem.
Due to its geographical proximity to the shipping lanes entering and leaving the Port of Barcelona, project leaders carefully adjusted the buoy’s technical specifications and its electronic and optical signaling systems. This process was carried out in strict compliance with the legal requirements of the Port Authority of Barcelona and the Directorate-General for Coastal Policies of the Catalan Government, ensuring full safety for both commercial and recreational navigation in the area.
With the deployment of this equipment—now integrated into ICATMAR’s meteo-marine observation network along the Catalan coastline—the scientific community gains an unprecedented technological ally to decode how the Barcelona coastline responds to the challenge of the climate emergency.
Choose Your Own (O)Adventure brings an interactive experience for your own learning pathway.
The NOAA Ocean Acidification Program is excited to announce the launch of “Choose Your Own (O)Adventure,” a new interactive tool to help you discover ocean and coastal acidification resources tailored to your specific interests and goals.
Skip the search for quality ocean acidification resources
Instead of wading through an ocean of information, access high-quality resources founded on the best available science and teaching best practices through. Whether you are an educator looking for classroom-ready materials, a student researching a project, or simply someone interested in learning more about how our oceans are changing, this tool makes finding information easier than ever. Dive into our curated collection for ocean and coastal acidification background, classroom ready, or regional and species-specific resources.
What you can do with Choose Your Own (O)Adventure
Our interactive feature in the gallery helps you quickly navigate our curated library to find the exact resources you need or you can browse our full CYOA collection.
Filter by Interest: Quickly navigate our curated library to find exactly what you need.
Search by Category: Browse resources based on specific criteria, including region, species, or grade level.
Find Vetted Content: Access background information and educational tools that have been vetted for teaching and communication best practices.
We invite you to explore the gallery on your own or follow a personalized learning path tailored to your specific interests and goals into our curated collection and follow a personalized learning path to unlock new insights about ocean and coastal acidification.
More than a dozen Mendocino County schools will be hosting a new program providing students an opportunity to learn about their ocean environment as well as a unique art experience. The students will be dyeing fabric using purple sea urchin spines.
Workshop student, Sarah Burstein of Arcata, looks at live sea urchins in salt water, during a sea urchin natural dye workshop taught by Margaret Seelie, at Fibershed Learning Center in Pt. Reyes, Saturday, July 25, 2026. (Darryl Bush/For The Press Democrat)
The workshops, presented by Seelie Studio of Oakland, include an educational component that addresses the need to harvest vast numbers of the overblown populations of purple sea urchins because they are decimating the California kelp forests.
Bay Area artist Margaret Seelie is the founder and head dyer at Seelie Studio. She was introduced to natural dye through a fun wine and crafts evening.
Margaret Seelie, founder of Seelie Studio, looks at a purple sea urchin while wearing a light pink beanie dyed with sea urchin pigment, during her sea urchin natural dye workshop at Fibershed Learning Center in Pt. Reyes, Saturday, July 25, 2026. (Darryl Bush/For The Press Democrat)
“I went to a friend’s art studio one night for this, you know, like wine and crafts thing,” she said. “A woman brought indigo dye and I indigo dyed a pillowcase and that was the beginning of the end for me. I loved it. That’s when my infatuation with plant and nature-based dyes began.”
She said she began dyeing everything she could get her hands on using the indigo plant. “That just became my medium,” she said.
Live purple sea urchins are shown in front of a jar of liquid containing sea urchin pigment as Margaret Seelie, founder of Seelie Studio, teaches a sea urchin natural dye workshop at Fibershed Learning Center in Pt. Reyes, Saturday, July 25, 2026. (Darryl Bush/For The Press Democrat)
Discovering purple urchins
In 2022, Seelie learned that sea urchins had eaten around 95% of the kelp forest off the California coast. The urchin populations are so out of control from a lack of predators that a whole movement has been created around the need to harvest as many sea urchins as possible in order to bring down their populations and give the kelp beds a chance to revive. That stuck with her and informed her path toward a unique new business that help increase the harvesting of sea urchins while also educating the public to the problems their overpopulation poses.
A chance encounter inspired that new altruistic venture. She was doing natural dyeing for Santa Cruz surfer and shaper Ashley Lloyd’s line of beachwear called Unfurling. Through Lloyd she met Noyo Harbor Master Anna Neumann who was making dye from sea urchins.
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“I met Anna and I was just totally enamored of the fact that she was doing this work and then also her as a person,” Seelie said. “She’s a total badass, she’s a fisherwoman. Growing up on boats myself, I know it’s not the most glamorous place to be at times, so I just thought she was a great grace.”
Inspired by the colors Neumann was creating, Seelie decided to see if she could figure out how to coax color from these incredible creatures. “With my background as a natural dyer and environmentalist, I used my understanding of how a shift in Ph levels can create strong bonds between dye and fabric, but also how it can disrupt and break down calcium carbonate in marine animals.”
She was trying to figure out how to get the sea urchins to experiment with when she was left a gift by the sea. She had been surfing down south and a king tide left the sand covered with sea urchins. “I filled an empty water bottle with dried spines and urchin bits and I brought them back to San Francisco and made sea urchin dye in my kitchen,” she said.
That would inevitably be the start of a new direction for Seelie. Up to this point she had been doing production natural dye work for clients on the side while working a tech job. But in January of 2023 she was caught up in a large wave of layoffs. She decided to found Seelie Studio, based on her work with urchin dye.
Spines and shells from the purple sea urchins contained in a jar are later ground into powder to form the dye, are shown as Margaret Seelie, founder of Seelie Studio, teaches a sea urchin natural dye workshop at Fibershed Learning Center in Pt. Reyes, Saturday, July 25, 2026. (Darryl Bush/For The Press Democrat)
So far, all of the sea urchins she’s been using have been from kelp restoration projects, which helps to fund those projects. She said they haven’t needed that many for their educational workshops. But now she’s working on launching the world’s first urchin dye kits which will require a lot more sea urchins. She’s currently in talks with divers and organizations to determine who she will be using for urchins going forward.
Seelie said her goal from day one was to try and create incentive for people to want urchins and the infrastructure to make them available. “So it’s a really exciting moment to finally need a lot of urchins, because there’s a lot of them,” she said.
Once Seelie receives sea urchins, she takes them to her studio in Oakland to process them.
“They go from a live animal to a purple spines,” she said.
Teaching others
For the urchin dye workshops she hosts she includes an educational component about the overpopulation of sea urchins and the decimation of the kelp forests off the California coast. Seelie said the urchins provide an opportunity for many satellite lessons that are rich with material. She said the urchin dye itself is both a chemistry and an ecology lesson because the sea urchin dye is actually a version of ocean acidification.
“So it’s really exciting because you get to see this sort of accelerated breaking down process of the calcium carbonate,” she said. “Sea urchin shells and spines are made of calcium carbonate. When you create the dye with them, the calcium carbonate breaks down and releases the color.”
Seelie said it’s very similar to what happens when ocean acidification happens. “The pH of the ocean changes due to warming and the change in the pH of the ocean creates an inhospitable environment for animals with shells, and they basically can’t grow shells that are strong and hard enough to survive,” she said. “There’s a lot of lessons around the sea urchin dye, but to me, I think that is kind of the most magical and impactful because you’re seeing this happen.”
Genome-wide data revealed a mahimahi evolutionary history shaped by vicariance, ocean currents and local environments, needing models, functional genomics and selection tests for climate adaptation
This study examined the worldwide population structure of the cosmopolitan pelagic fish Coryphaena hippurus using a dataset of 8.7 million SNPs and complete mitochondrial genomes. The analyses reveal, for the first time, four genetically distinct populations corresponding to the major oceanic basins: the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Photo of Atlantic mahimahi by NOAA Fisheries.
The processes that generate and sustain marine biodiversity are still incompletely understood, especially in open-ocean systems where high dispersal potential is expected to prevent strong population differentiation. Understanding how evolutionary forces shape divergence or speciation in such environments requires detailed knowledge of a species’ life history and its interactions with key environmental variables.
In a study by Píndaro Díaz Jaimes and coworkers – at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, the Tecnológico de Monterrey, and the Instituto Politécnico Nacional in Mexico; Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Spain, and the University of Palermo in Italy – the authors applied a genome-wide approach to examine the global population structure of the cosmopolitan pelagic dolphinfish or mahimahi (Coryphaena hippurus), an important commercial species. A comprehensive dataset comprising 8.7 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms together with complete mitochondrial genomes was generated during this research.
The analyses reveal, for the first time, four genetically distinct populations that correspond to the major oceanic basins: the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. The Mediterranean population carries a unique genomic signature, most probably reflecting historical isolation and limited contemporary gene flow through the Strait of Gibraltar.
Despite this clear inter-basin structure, genome-wide data also retain extensive signals of historical connectivity. Results of various tests show significant excess allele sharing (meaning that two groups of individuals carry the same version or allele of a particular gene or DNA segment), particularly between the Indo-Pacific and Atlantic groups. In addition, phylogenetic network analyses (drawing evolutionary relationships that allows for mixing between groups, not just simple branching) show multiple migration events. These results underline the lasting influence of ancestral gene flow on present-day genetic patterns.
At finer geographic scales, modest but statistically significant structure was detected within both the Atlantic and Pacific basins. Seascape genomic analyses (how genetic differences in marine species are linked to the environment around them) further demonstrate that environmental gradients – including salinity, phosphate concentration, pH and others – are significantly associated with genomic variation, indicating that ecological factors play a role in shaping population differentiation across heterogeneous marine habitats.
Fig. 1: Graphical summary of the study. Adapted from the original.
Relevance of research findings to the industry
For fisheries managers and the fishing sectors, the discovery of four basin-scale genetic populations is important. Stocks that look continuous on a map may in fact be demographically independent. Management plans that treat all dolphinfish as a single global unit risk over-harvesting one basin while under-utilizing another.
Knowing that Mediterranean fish are particularly distinct and that Atlantic and Pacific populations also show internal structure gives managers a clearer basis for setting regional catch limits, seasonal closures or size regulations. The environmental associations also hint that climate-driven changes in salinity or nutrient levels could alter population boundaries in the future, which both industry and regulators should monitor.
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Perspectives
This research demonstrates that even highly dispersive oceanic species can maintain meaningful genetic structure. Future studies should combine these genomic results with ocean-circulation models to assess how currents move larvae and adults between basins. Functional genomic approaches and tests for loci under selection would help identify which genes allow each population to cope with local conditions and with rapid environmental change.
Expanding sample sizes, especially from under-represented regions of the Indian Ocean and southern Pacific, would refine the picture further. Overall, the four genetic groups identified in this study provide a solid starting point for designing management units that better match the true biology of the species.
Modeling ocean acidification and warming effects on Atlantic Sea scallop growth for adaptive management
Results of this study show that warming stress is stronger than previously recognized, especially in the southern Mid-Atlantic, while ocean acidification appears first in the north. Together these stressors shrink the optimal growth range of sea scallops, showing the value of the spatially coupled DEB model for adaptive fisheries management. Photo of a sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) – which has over 100 blue eyes along the edge of its mantle to sense light intensity – by Dann Blackwood, USGS (Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons).
Effective climate-ready fisheries management depends on robust predictions of how species will respond to environmental change across broad spatial scales. Bioenergetic approaches such as Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) models link physiological processes to environmental conditions and can therefore forecast organismal growth under future climate scenarios.
In a recent study by Halle M. Berger and colleagues (University of Connecticut and NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center and Océanopolis in France) the scientists presented the first large-scale integration of a DEB model with downscaled regional oceanographic simulations. This coupling allows resolving spatiotemporal patterns and examine how climate stressors appear at biogeographic, economic and oceanographic scales that matter for management.
The researchers calibrated a DEB model for the Atlantic Sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) using output from a realistic oceanographic–biogeochemical model of the Northeast U.S. continental shelf. The model was used to project the combined effects of ocean acidification (OA) and warming on individual growth both historically and through the coming century. It successfully reproduced observed historical patterns in age at harvest size and maximum attainable size.
At mid-century (2035–2050), scallop growth was projected to increase across most of the region, with the exception of the southern Mid-Atlantic; OA effects remained confined to the deep Gulf of Maine. By the end of the century (2080–2095) under a high-emissions scenario, scallops were expected to grow more rapidly yet reach smaller maximum sizes. The results indicate that warming stress is more severe than previously recognized, especially in the southern Mid-Atlantic. Warming impacts appear first in the south, whereas OA stress precedes warming in the north.
Overall, together these stressors progressively shrink the geographic area that supports optimal growth, and the results of this study demonstrate the value of a spatially explicit, climate-forced DEB model as a practical tool for guiding adaptive fisheries management.
Fig. 5: Mean (± SD) dry flesh mass (top row) and shell height (bottom) of experimental juvenile scallops exposed to low (503 microatm – the microatmosphere is a unit of pressure equal to one-millionth of an atmosphere – black symbols), moderate (805 microatm, yellow symbols), or high (1168 microatm; red symbols) pCO2 (data from Pousse et al. 2023) used to calibrate the model. In ocean science (especially ocean acidification studies), a microatm is the standard unit used to express the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO₂) in seawater. Typical surface ocean values today are around 400–450 microatm. Adapted from, and with additional information in the original publication.
Relevance of research findings to the industry
For the scallop fisheries industry, the most immediate value of the work is its ability to flag which fishing grounds are likely to become less productive and which may temporarily improve. Southern mid-Atlantic beds face the earliest risk of slower growth and smaller maximum size, while some northern areas may see short-term gains before acidification becomes limiting. Processors, vessel operators and managers can use these regional signals when planning long-term investments, lease decisions or rotational closures.
The finding that animals may grow faster yet end up smaller also has direct economic consequences: smaller scallops command lower prices and may require changes in gear or processing methods. Because the model is spatially explicit, it can be updated as new climate projections or survey data become available, giving the industry a living tool rather than a one-time snapshot.
Perspectives
Results of this study demonstrate that linking bioenergetic models to regional ocean forecasts is both feasible and useful for climate-ready management. Future work could refine the food-supply component of the model, incorporate density-dependent effects, and assess additional emission scenarios. Expanding the approach to other shellfish or finfish would allow multi-species comparisons and more integrated ecosystem planning.
Managers should consider that waiting until declines appear in the catch is no longer necessary. The spatial patterns of stress are already projected; adaptive measures – such as shifting effort northward, adjusting size limits, or protecting residual high-growth habitats – can be designed now. Overall, the model developed provides a practical bridge between climate science and the day-to-day decisions that will hopefully keep the Atlantic Sea scallop fishery viable through the coming decades.
Talcott Mountain Academy | 7th grade | 12 years old
About the Idea
Meet Raji. Raji created an innovative coastal solution that uses algae and natural calcium buffers to lower ocean acidity and boost marine health
Why did you enter the 3M Young Scientist Challenge?
I entered the 3M Young Scientist Challenge because I wanted to do something real with my research. Studying ocean acidification in a classroom is one thing, but this competition gave me a reason to go further, to actually design an experiment, collect real data, and test whether my idea could hold up under scrutiny. I also entered because climate change feels urgent to me in a way that is hard to ignore. The oceans are absorbing carbon at a rate that is changing their chemistry, and that affects billions of people. I wanted to work on something that mattered, not just something that would earn a grade. The 3M Young Scientist Challenge specifically appealed to me because it is not just about having a good idea. It rewards students who communicate science clearly and think about real-world impact. That is exactly what I was trying to do with this project.
What is your favorite invention of the last 100 years, and why?
My favorite invention of the last 100 years is the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), such as those developed by organizations like Saildrone and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. These AUVs (like Saildrone’s carbon-neutral ocean drones) allow scientists to collect real-time data on ocean chemistry, pH levels, and CO₂ absorption in remote and challenging environments—critical for understanding and addressing ocean acidification. Their ability to operate autonomously for months at a time makes them game-changers for monitoring the health of our oceans.
In 15 years I hope to be…
In 15 years, I hope to be a NASA aerospace engineer designing systems that monitor ocean health and climate change from space. My research taught me that the most significant climate breakthroughs happen when different fields work together, and I want to build the tools that make that possible.
The Faculty of Science and Technology at The University of the West Indies (The UWI), Mona, officially launched the Water, Analytics, Tracing and Environmental Research (W.A.T.E.R.) Laboratory on June 5, 2026, in the Department of Chemistry which coincides with World Environment Day. The establishment of the laboratory represents a significant investment in interdisciplinary research aimed at improving the understanding, monitoring and sustainable management of freshwater, coastal and marine environments in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean.
The W.A.T.E.R. Laboratory is headed by Dr. Debbie-Ann Gordon-Smith, Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry, who also serves as its Research Lead. Her grantsmanship, research leadership and development of strategic partnerships were instrumental in securing the resources and institutional support required to establish the facility. Dr. Gordon-Smith’s research interests include water chemistry and pollution, coral reefs, ocean acidification, groundwater–surface water interactions, the use of radioactive and stable isotope tracers, and climate change. These areas of expertise guide the laboratory’s scientific direction and its efforts to address some of the Caribbean’s most pressing water and environmental challenges.
Photo caption: Dr. Debbie-Ann Gordon Smith.
The launch was attended by senior University representatives, researchers and key external stakeholders, including Dr. Donna Minott Kates, (then) Head of the Department of Chemistry; Professor Michael Taylor, (then) Dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology; Professor Marvin Reid, Deputy Principal of The UWI Mona; and Mr. Geoffrey Marshall, Deputy Managing Director of the Water Resources Authority. Also in attendance was Dr. Anthony Greenaway, Dr. Gordon-Smith’s graduate research supervisor, whose research interests span environmental pollution and industrial chemistry. His presence highlighted the importance of academic mentorship and the contribution of established researchers to the development of the next generation of Caribbean scientists.
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Advancing Water and Ocean Sustainability
The mission of the W.A.T.E.R. Laboratory is to generate high-quality scientific knowledge that supports the sustainable management of aquatic environments across Jamaica and the Caribbean.
Its research places particular emphasis on understanding biogeochemical processes, ecosystem health and the ways in which freshwater, coastal and marine environments respond to natural and human-induced pressures. Through field-based observations, laboratory analyses and regional monitoring initiatives, the laboratory will strengthen scientific capacity, support evidence-based policy and management decisions, and contribute to regional and global discussions on water and ocean sustainability.
Interdisciplinary Research with Regional Impact
Water pollution chemistry is a core research area of the laboratory. Its work examines nutrient dynamics, isotopic tracers, climate impacts and other environmental drivers of change within aquatic ecosystems.
Researchers at the laboratory use radioactive and stable isotope techniques to trace biogeochemical pathways, identify sources of nutrients and pollution, and examine the connections among groundwater, rivers, estuaries and marine environments. Coastal research focuses on the effects of land-based pollution and other environmental pressures on Jamaica’s vulnerable coral reef and mangrove ecosystems. The laboratory also conducts analyses of marine sediments to investigate historical geochemical processes and the long-term effects of climate change. Ocean acidification is another key and expanding area of research. This work includes assessments of carbonate chemistry, the monitoring of ocean-observing capacity, and the evaluation of ecological and biogeochemical responses to changing ocean conditions.
The laboratory is also conducting detailed assessments of major freshwater systems, including the Rio Cobre, Rio Grande and Black River. These studies examine hydrology, water chemistry, pollution, land–water interactions and the movement of water between groundwater and surface-water systems.
Collectively, these research areas support a more integrated understanding of how Caribbean aquatic environments are being affected by pollution, climate change and other natural and human-induced pressures.
Laboratory Tour Highlights Research Capabilities
The official opening also included a guided tour of the W.A.T.E.R. Laboratory, facilitated by two of Dr. Gordon-Smith’s research students, Mr. Andrew Green and Ms. Pearl Bergan.
During the tour, guests were introduced to the laboratory’s research facilities, equipment and analytical capabilities. The students also provided insight into the scientific techniques used to examine water quality, environmental pollution, aquatic chemistry and the movement of chemical and isotopic tracers through freshwater, coastal and marine systems. The tour provided attendees with an opportunity to see firsthand how the laboratory will support field-based research, laboratory analyses, student training and collaborative environmental monitoring initiatives.
Building the Next Generation of Scientists
In addition to advancing scientific research, the W.A.T.E.R. Laboratory provides an important platform for graduate training, undergraduate research and international scientific engagement.
The laboratory currently supports three locally based postgraduate students—Ms. Pearl Bergan, Mr. Andrew Green and Mr. Kadane Coates—as well as undergraduate students and international researchers.
Students are actively involved in fieldwork, laboratory analyses, data interpretation and collaborative research projects. Their participation contributes to local and international scientific outputs while building the technical expertise needed to address emerging environmental challenges.
The involvement of Mr. Green and Ms. Bergan in facilitating the laboratory tour also demonstrated the central role students will play in the laboratory’s research, public engagement and knowledge-sharing activities.
Strengthening Partnerships and Research Capacity
The W.A.T.E.R. Laboratory maintains strong local, regional and international partnerships that expand its research capacity and scientific reach. Local collaborators include the Water Resources Authority, the National Irrigation Commission and several non-governmental organisations. International partners include The University of Texas at Austin and the Georgia Institute of Technology in the United States; the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research in Germany; and Liverpool John Moores University, University College London, and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science in the United Kingdom. These partnerships support knowledge exchange, capacity building, student development, shared research methodologies and comparative studies across diverse aquatic environments.
Through its research, training and partnerships, the W.A.T.E.R. Laboratory is positioned to become an important centre for aquatic and environmental research in the Caribbean. Its establishment further strengthens the Department of Chemistry and the Faculty of Science and Technology’s contribution to addressing some of the region’s most urgent water, climate and environmental challenges.
The Southern California Bight 2023 Regional Monitoring Program’s Ocean Acidification study element has begun working to assess the effects of ocean acidification (OA) on shell-forming organisms in close coordination with two other West Coast ocean monitoring programs – a collaboration intended to promote standardization of OA biological monitoring across the West Coast and ensure OA’s effects on Southern California marine organisms can be placed into a broader regional context.
A field crew for the Southern California Bight Regional Monitoring Program lowers a pair of plankton nets into coastal waters to collect shelled marine gastropods that could serve as an indicator of ocean acidification’s biological effects. The Bight ’23 Ocean Acidification study element kicked off OA biological sampling in July in close coordination with two West Coast monitoring counterparts, paving the way for researchers to build a unified, comprehensive picture of OA status and trends. (Courtesy of Ami Latker, City of San Diego Public Utilities Department)
The California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) and NOAA West Coast Ocean Acidification (WCOA) program began OA biological sampling in Southern California coastal waters farther offshore in July, the same time period that Bight ’23 is conducting OA biological sampling in nearshore waters. The biological sampling is being complemented by ocean chemistry measures of OA.
A key priority for the SCCWRP-facilitated Bight ’23 OA study element will be identifying a shell-forming species that can serve as an indicator of OA’s biological effects in Southern California coastal waters. During the first coordinated sampling effort in 2021 and 2022, the species that all three West Coast OA monitoring programs tracked – a tiny sea snail known as Limacina helicina – could not be found in sufficient abundance in Southern California nearshore waters to generate a reliable assessment of OA’s biological effects.
As a result, researchers have not yet been able to compare how marine organisms in nearshore Southern California waters are being affected by OA relative to what is happening West Coast-wide. Researchers’ goal is to stitch together biological data from multiple West Coast monitoring programs to create a unified, comprehensive picture of OA status and trends.
The coordinated, summer-long OA field sampling event follows years of collaborative work by the trio of monitoring programs and other partners to develop repeatable, standardized methods for tracking OA-triggered shell dissolution in shelled marine gastropods.
This method development work culminated with a one-year intercalibration exercise facilitated by SCCWRP and CalCOFI, completed in June, that standardized the process by which gastropod shell dissolution is analyzed under a scanning electron microscope. This new protocol can now be used on the samples collected by all three programs during this summer’s field sampling.
Shelled gastropods are sensitive to OA’s corrosive effects, enabling them to serve as sentinel biological indicators of the pace and intensity with which OA is unfolding across the West Coast.
To address the Limacina data gap in Southern California, all three programs have agreed to sample alternate swimming marine snail species this summer that could potentially complement Limacina monitoring. Researchers are focusing initially on Clio pyramidata – a type of sea snail known as a pteropod – and Atlanta californiensis – a heteropod species. Both are commonly found in the warmer waters of Southern California; the other two monitoring programs are examining whether these species can be found in abundance farther north as well.
Researchers envision developing a suite of shell-forming organisms to serve as sentinel biological indicators for tracking West Coast OA. Data from different biological indicators across different parts of the West Coast would enable researchers to take a multiple-lines-of-evidence approach to tracking OA’s biological effects, with a goal to enhance management understanding and confidence in OA monitoring data.
Researchers hypothesize that Southern California coastal waters may be too warm for Limacina – or at least they were during the years Southern California OA biological sampling was previously conducted. CalCOFI, which samples further offshore, successfully sampled Limacina at some offshore sites in Southern California, while the Bight program identified Limacina during the wintertime in mostly cooler, upwelling-dominated waters in the Santa Barbara Channel.
If promising alternate indicators can be identified this summer, Bight ’23 may follow up with subsequent rounds of sampling to investigate seasonal patterns in shell dissolution.
In addition to monitoring ocean chemistry and shell dissolution, the trio of programs are piloting the use of environmental DNA (eDNA)-based methods for tracking OA’s biological effects on marine life.
Biology is one of two approaches that researchers are taking to track OA in coastal waters. The other approach – tracking ocean chemistry – already has been implemented by West Coast OA monitoring programs, including the Bight program.
This summer’s coordinated OA sampling effort highlights all three monitoring programs’ shared commitment to building a comprehensive picture of West Coast OA. While the Bight program monitors OA in Southern California nearshore coastal waters, the CalCOFI and WCOA surveys are focused on monitoring OA farther offshore and northward.
NOAA’s West Coast Ocean Acidification survey is a long-running effort with previous missions like this one aboard the NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown in 2021 seen near an ocean acidification monitoring mooring. Credit: NOAA
Today, researchers set sail for a seventh West Coast Ocean Acidification (WCOA 2026) research mission. Departing from San Diego, CA aboard the University of Alaska, Fairbanks R/V Sikuliaq, the team will travel north to Washington as part of NOAA’s efforts for long-term monitoring ocean acidification and its impacts on marine resources.
This intensive 30-day coastal research cruise faces the unique opportunity of sampling during conditions building toward an extreme El Niño. El Niño brings warmer water and can alter upwelling and precipitation patterns in the region. If it forms as predicted, sea surface temperatures may rise 2℃ (3.6℉) or more above average. Phytoplankton and zooplankton communities would follow these warmer waters, which would impact food webs and fisheries as seen during past marine heatwaves. WCOA 2026 will couple ocean chemistry, biology, and physics to build a more comprehensive view of how extreme events impact biogeochemistry and ecosystems.
Data collected during WCOA 2026 are essential for validating models and forecasts of ocean conditions like J-SCOPE. This short term (six to nine month) forecast is used for the California Current Integrated Ecosystem Assessment. High quality ocean carbon chemistry data is required to forecast the saturation state of calcium carbonate, the mineral building block used by shellfish like Dungeness crabs, clams, and oysters.
“Results from past WCOA cruises have provided novel insights into acidification rates and impacts in coastal and estuary habitats that provide our nation with rich fish and shellfish resources,” says Co-Chief Scientist Dr. Simone Alin from PMEL. She also notes that “these findings have also contributed to innovative tools and information products that support healthy fisheries, ecosystems, and communities.” Resource managers and harvesters can use this information to inform fisheries management decisions.
Other coordinated regular coastal fisheries surveys, including the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) enhance the impact of WCOA 2026. By conducting biological net tows at established stations, researchers will gain high-quality data on marine life.
Ultimately, the data collected through WCOA 2026 will serve as a foundational benchmark for monitoring, modeling and research in the region. These data will provide calibration information for sensor networks designed to fill measurement gaps between research cruises. With the potential for sampling to occur as ocean conditions change with El Niño, NOAA and our partners will be able to better understand how extreme conditions alter vital marine resources like Dungeness crabs, krill, plankton and other fisheries. The mission concludes on July 16th.
This curriculum developed by the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Acidification Network (MACAN) brings coastal and ocean acidification into the classroom in clear, practical ways. It provides complete lesson plans, hands-on activities, and data-driven investigations that support student inquiry while aligning with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).
Designed for high school classrooms, the lessons can be taught as a full unit or selected individually to fit existing course needs.
Lesson 1: This section introduces the curriculum and key concepts in ocean acidification through background reading and short videos. It includes NGSS-aligned questions and transcripts that can be used in class or for flipped learning.
Lesson 2: Students learn how carbon moves through Earth’s systems and how emissions affect atmospheric CO₂. An interactive game helps reinforce sources and sinks through hands-on participation.
Lesson 3: Students explore how increased atmospheric CO₂ changes ocean pH and water chemistry. Demonstrations and guided activities help introduce the foundational processes behind ocean acidification.
Lesson 4: Through hands-on lab activities, students investigate the chemical reactions that drive ocean acidification. These labs also introduce how changes in chemistry affect shell formation in marine organisms.
Lesson 5: Students compare ocean and coastal acidification using data and infographics. The lesson emphasizes how estuaries and coastal waters experience different conditions than the open ocean.
Lesson 6: Students examine data on Mid-Atlantic species to understand how decreasing pH affects growth, reproduction, and survival. They connect changes in chemistry to impacts on living organisms.
Lesson 7: Students work individually and in groups to analyze data related to bivalve health. The lesson focuses on interpreting evidence and drawing conclusions about the effects of dissolved CO₂.
Lesson 8 Part 1: This lesson engages students in investigating declining bay scallop populations while exploring the scientific method and experimental design. Students analyze data, build critical thinking skills, and examine coastal acidification’s impacts on biological species. Lesson 8 Part 2: In Part 2, students apply the scientific method to investigate the bay scallop mystery by reviewing key steps, conducting research, developing hypotheses, and designing experiments to guide their inquiry.
Bring your students into the Pacific Northwest to discover how the ocean acts like a carbon sponge and its effects on salmon and plankton that fuel the ecosystem. This toolkit utilizes effective communication strategies to convey the significance of ocean acidification effects and empower mitigation actions within communities. Tested in classrooms, this toolkit increased ocean acidification literacy for ages 9 and older. Students can become OA Ambassadors as they apply what they know toward ocean acidification solutions.
The toolkit includes four NGSS aligned modules that can be used independently or together. Each module includes the ocean acidification literacy goal, a value that can be used to better engage or connect with students, discussion guide, and solutions students can take part. In addition, an optional script that uses specific language will guide the instructor in successful and effective ocean acidification dialogue.
Module
Description
I. Our Ocean: The Giant Sponge
Students learn how the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide and the difference between regular and uncontrolled amounts through a guided demonstration.
II. Our Changing Ocean
Students make the connection between carbon dioxide in the ocean and increased acidity. With a simple experiment, they compare ocean acidity now with the past.
III. Swim, Snack, Sink
Students learn about the impacts of increased acidity on the plankton that feed the food web through an interactive activity.
IV. Senseless Salmon!
Students understand the impacts of ocean acidification on a salmon’s ability to smell to migrate and avoid predators through a game.
Globally the ocean absorbs about a quarter of the carbon dioxide produced on land. This varies seasonally and by region. We visit the PAP-SO in spring just as the largest plankton bloom is starting, shown by the orange and red colours in the satellite map below. This productivity makes the northeast Atlantic a key region for carbon dioxide uptake into the ocean.
Satellite image of NE Atlantic chlorophyll.
On JC247 we are using several methods to measure this process. The Met Office ODAS buoy carries instruments for year-round measurement of ocean biogeochemistry, including seawater and atmospheric carbon dioxide (Pro-Oceanus). We observe the phytoplankton bloom at PAP-SO with chlorophyll, oxygen and nutrient sensors that we can compare with satellite images. This year we have an exciting addition to our upper ocean measurements – an underwater holographic camera (LISST-Holo) we can use to measure plankton communities in the surface water. All these measurements help us understand drivers of carbon dioxide uptake.
PAP buoy on deck.
During the research cruise we take physical water samples around the PAP-SO, sampling right down to 4850m depth. The water will be analysed in our laboratories on board, and ashore at NOC. We also have a SubCtech ‘flow through’ system on board. It allows us to map surface seawater carbon dioxide in the whole region around PAP-SO. From the summer of this year a similar system will be fitted permanently to the ship to make measurements during other research cruises and during transit, with the benefit of gathering data in under surveyed regions of the world.
All of the carbon dioxide data we collect on JC247 will contribute to the Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas (SOCAT). This global map of carbon dioxide helps in our understanding of climate change and ocean acidification. PAP data also contributes to the Integrated Carbon Observation System which uses key long-running ocean, land and atmospheric greenhouse gas sites across Europe. We are excited that the PAP-SO has been accepted as a ‘labelled ICOS station’ for carbon dioxide measurements from 2023.
Sue Hartman operating our underway CO2 system.
The team on board the RRS James Cook are grateful to the Met Office for use of the ODAS buoy at PAP-SO as well as all of the technicians, scientists and engineers (both onboard and ashore) who have helped instrument the buoy.
POSTECH (Pohang University of Science and Technology) – Republic of Korea
Korea Ocean Acidification Watch (K-OA Watch) is joint initiative of POSTECH and the Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Agency (KHOA) under the OARS Programme.
Centered on the Ieodo Ocean Research Station (northern East China Sea), the project conducts long-term monitoring of ocean acidification in shelf waters.
Weekly sampling targets three core carbonate parameters (pH, TA, DIC), from which additional parameters are derived. This effort will capture long-term trends, seasonal patterns, and short-term variability in acidification, while also quantifying the carbon uptake capacity of shelf seas and identifying its primary drivers.
All quality-controlled data, methods, and code will be openly shared through global repositories, strengthening OARS syntheses and improving regional OA forecasts.
The outcomes will directly inform risk assessment and adaptation strategies for fisheries and coastal communities, contributing to SDG 14.3 by addressing and mitigating OA impacts.
Environmental Sciences Professor Brooke Love and graduate student Rhiannon Holmes explore the link between proteins and resistance to ocean acidification
Rhiannon Holmes holds up two female Dungeness crabs. Photo by Luke Hollister.
Professor Brooke Love was already studying the effects of ocean acidification on sea life, but wanted to look into some new tools to aid her studies. After Love received the National Science Foundation’s Mid-Career Advancement Grant in 2020, she decided to learn molecular tools such as mass spectrometry to explore a microscopic angle.
Soon after, she found a study by Paul McElhany, who was researching Dungeness crabs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
McElhany had found a difference in survivability between the offspring, or zoea, of multiple Dungeness crab mothers collected in different regions when living in water with a high concentration of CO2.
Close-ups of some zoea used in the experiment. Photos courtesy of Rhiannon Holmes.
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The NOAA group initially hypothesized that water conditions, such as oxygen and CO2 levels, at the sites where the crab mothers were collected could influence the zoeae’s survivability and resistance to ocean acidification (OA), but ultimately they found that location had less of an impact than matrilineal lineage.
As Love continued the research, she knew she would need more resources. Support from the Washington Ocean Acidification Center allowed her to move ahead and bring WWU undergraduate Rhiannon Holmes onto the project as an intern. Together, they took the first NOAA experiment’s preserved zoea gathered from the Puget Sound and compared all the proteins present in each brood. Of the three Puget Sound females, one mother’s brood had far higher survivability under high CO2 conditions than the other two. The team discovered that these survivors had elevated amounts of a few key proteins. The function of these proteins could indicate the reason why those zoea survived the best.
Now, the team is working towards the next phase of their experiment, which will consist of testing the resistance to OA of additional broods to see if the first experiment’s data is repeatable. Love’s team is working with local tribal fishery experts to collect new egg-bearing females and will use the Shannon Point OA system to test how their offspring survive, and to see if their targeted proteins are once again associated with more resilient broods in the next trial.
“We’ve been using mass spectrometry to look at the different proteins that they produced, and then compare the zoea that were resistant with the vulnerable ones. We identified a group of 33 proteins that were different between the two groups,” said Holmes, who is now a graduate student in Love’s lab. “We’ve only analyzed zoea from one of the three locations so far. They had three females per location, so the sample size is pretty small, but we’re interested in seeing if that trend holds true as we analyze the rest of the samples.”
A global research network assessed how ocean acidification affects seafood to help countries build climate resilience and secure future food supplies.
The spotted rose snapper (Lutjanus guttatus), locally known as pargo mancha or pargo lunarejo, is a commercially and culturally valuable fish species in Costa Rica. (Photo: C. Sanchez-Noguera/University of Costa Rica)
Global seafood security depends on the health of our ocean. However, this vital resource is currently under threat from the ‘invisible’ process of ocean acidification.
As the ocean absorbs more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, its chemistry changes, making it increasingly difficult for many marine species, including shellfish and fish that billions of people rely on for protein, to grow and survive.
To address this challenge, the IAEA launched a five-year Coordinated Research Project (CRP) in August 2019 to evaluate how changing ocean chemistry affects seafood and to explore adaptation strategies for the aquaculture and fisheries industries.
A unified scientific protocol for a global assessment
The project applied a novel, collaborative approach in which researchers from 14 countries across five continents used a common experimental protocol, allowing results to be compared and integrated into a single dataset.
The project enabled scientists to study how locally important seafood species respond to the complex physiological stress of acidifying waters, including impacts on growth and mortality, as well as seafood quality, such as taste and texture. By focusing on species of high socio-economic importance such as oysters, mussels, shrimp and fish, the research provides a direct link between marine chemistry changes and the livelihoods of coastal communities.
Using similar methodologies and research kits provided by the IAEA, the consortium successfully co-designed a comprehensive experimental framework. This turnkey scientific model allowed laboratories with varying levels of experience to produce high-quality data to inform policy making.
“This project allowed us to move beyond isolated observations to a more global understanding,” said Florence Descroix-Comanducci, Director of the IAEA Marine Environment Laboratories. “By providing countries with a unified scientific framework to study ocean acidification impacts, we have empowered them to produce data that is high-quality, comparable and ready to inform national policy. We are no longer looking at individual pieces of a puzzle; we are seeing a more complete picture of ocean change.”
The team from the University of Costa Rica organizing a public seafood tasting of the spotted rose snapper (Lutjanus guttatus) previously subjected to ocean acidification, to assess potential impacts on taste and texture. (Photo: C. Sanchez-Noguera/University of Costa Rica)
Strengthening infrastructure and informing policy
The impact of the project extends beyond the laboratory, strengthening research infrastructure and informing policy frameworks of the participating countries.
The initiative led to the establishment of specialized laboratories for ocean acidification research in Türkiye and Cuba, as well as new monitoring stations in Argentina.
Furthermore, the project mentored more than 30 students and early-career scientists, helping to build a skilled workforce capable of tackling future marine challenges. These enhanced capabilities have already translated into real-world policy changes. In Ecuador, for example, data generated through the project was shared with policymakers to inform articles of the National Environmental Law, which now explicitly addresses ocean acidification.
This collaborative effort also brought science to local communities, engaging with aquaculture managers and the public through surveys and seafood-tasting events.
“The collaborative nature of this project helped us bring the topic of ocean acidification to the attention of decision-makers in a way we couldn’t have done alone,” said Betina Lomovasky, a researcher from Argentina.
The project has provided a solid basis for long-term food security and the sustainable management of marine resources in a changing climate.
Marc Metian, IAEA Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, 16 June 2026. Article.
NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown during the 2021 West Coast Ocean Acidification research cruise with a NOAA mooring measuring ocean chemistry in the foreground. Credit: NOAA
This June, NOAA’s Ocean Acidification Program (OAP) launches two major research missions at sea to track how changing ocean chemistry is affecting marine life along both the East and West coasts of the United States.
OAP’s East Coast (ECOA-4) and West Coast (WCOA 2026) Ocean Acidification research cruises collect the highest quality information that serve as vital benchmarks for research, monitoring and modeling in each region. By coupling ocean chemistry, biology and physics, researchers are able to better understand how ocean acidification impacts marine life. Each coastwide cruise occurs every four years on average. Data collected during these cruises “serve as a vital back-bone to NOAA’s ocean acidification observing enterprise allowing us to document the primary drivers and risks of acidification along much of the nation’s coastal waters,” says OAP Acting Director Dwight Gledhill.
Tracking potential El Niño effects
This year’s missions are particularly timely as a predicted El Niño builds during the missions. This concurrence provides a unique opportunity to assess how these conditions affect ocean chemistry and marine ecosystems. El Niño is a natural variation in sea temperature that occurs when weaker than normal trade winds occur. Warmer conditions can shift where marine species occur – and where people need to fish – and significantly alter ecosystems and fisheries. If conditions develop as predicted, ECOA-4 and WCOA 2026 will both capture how El Niño conditions affect ocean acidification and impacts to marine resources.
Delivering critical information on two coasts
The ECOA-4 research cruise will survey the Atlantic seaboard from Florida to Canadian waters and launches first in early June for a 50-day journey. WCOA 2026 departs from San Diego, CA and heads north to Washington over a month of sampling. Both coastal research cruises collect coastwide data of ocean biogeochemical and physical conditions and how conditions are affecting marine resources. Research cruises are needed to obtain the quality and breadth of measurements required to infer long-term changes and to see how marine life responds to ocean acidification.
Already, each coast has experienced the effects of ocean acidification on fisheries, aquaculture and ecosystems. The data collected by ECOA-4 and WCOA 2026 are fundamental to validating ocean models and forecast changes in ocean acidification and other conditions like hypoxia and warming to better prepare for future impacts to valued fisheries and ecosystems.
East Coast Atlantic sea scallop fishermen are working together with researchers to develop research and adaptive management strategies addressing the impacts of ocean acidification and warming. The information also validates ocean and other models such as the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Forecast System (CBEFS) used by resource managers, shellfish growers and fishermen. The West Coast, which first saw devastating impacts to oyster farming, now produces forecasts through J-SCOPE that incorporate measures of ocean acidification and other ocean conditions into integrated ecosystem assessments and fisheries management. Research of economically, ecologically and culturally valuable species like Dungeness crab, krill and oysters also benefit from the data produced by these coast-wide research missions.
The predicted upcoming El Niño provides the ECOA-4 mission a unique opportunity to observe changes in ocean chemistry and impacts on ecosystems from surface to seafloor as conditions build. El Niño events bring warmer water, wetter conditions and alter severe weather patterns in the region. This could disrupt plankton communities, shift species distributions, and affect fisheries. A strong El Niño could raise sea surface temperatures 2°C (3.6°F) or more above average.
ECOA-4 provides an essential “snapshot” of the carbon system and ocean chemistry. Data collected during ECOA-4 “allow us to monitor decadal changes in the coastal ocean and validate regional ocean forecasts essential for decision support,” says OAP’s Acting Director Dwight Gledhill. OAP conducts ECOA cruises every four years on average. By measuring chemistry, biology and physics concurrently, researchers can better understand the complex environmental impacts on the East Coast.
Data collected during ECOA-4 are fundamental to the models and forecasts that resource managers and others use to protect valued regional industries. Key fisheries, such as the Atlantic sea scallop, are impacted by ocean acidification and warming and stand to benefit from improved models and predictions.
Ultimately, the high quality information from ECOA-4, combined with ongoing efforts across the East Coast, provide a more comprehensive understanding of ocean chemistry. Together, coastal communities and industries can better safeguard valuable marine ecosystems and livelihoods against the long-term challenges of ocean and coastal acidification.
Sampling on the acidified reef. In contrast to the structurally complex control reefs, the seafloor here is relatively flat and dominated by turf algae — habitat that supports far fewer fish and much smaller shoals. Photo by Manabu Ooue and provided by the authorship team.
Watch a reef long enough and you realise that fish are almost never alone. They move in groups, feed in groups, and react to danger as a group. For small reef fish, being part of a shoal is a survival strategy. More eyes spot predators sooner. More bodies mean any one fish is less likely to be the unlucky one. And fish in bigger groups tend to be bolder, as they forage more efficiently, stay out in the open more, and spend less time hiding.
When we started looking at how climate change affects fish behaviour on reefs experiencing ocean acidification and warming in Japan, we assumed we would find the usual story. Warmer water and rising acidity would alter fish behaviour, make them more cautious, or accelerate their activity levels. That seemed like the obvious prediction.
It turned out to be different — or at least, for schooling species.
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Warming and acidification had little direct effect on behaviour
Across all reef types, even during the heatwave, the fish behaved in much the same way. They kept feeding. They did not suddenly become more nervous. The direct effects of warming, acidification, and heatwave stress on individual behaviour were mostly minimal.
You could read that as good news. Fish holding their own against climate change. But when we looked at what actually caused how the fish were behaving, the answer was not temperature or water chemistry at all. It was how many fish were in the shoal.
Fish in bigger shoals foraged more and hid less. Fish in smaller shoals were more cautious, regardless of the reef conditions around them. Shoal size, not climate stress, was mediating the behaviours we observed.
That sent us back to ask a different question: why were shoals so much smaller on the acidified reef?
What acidification actually does to a reef
On non-acidified reefs, the benthos is structurally complex, a mix of algae, encrusting organisms, and vertical relief that gives reef fish the three-dimensional habitat they rely on. On our acidified reef, that structure was largely gone. The seafloor was dominated by short turf algae, flat and featureless.
There were far fewer fish. Not because the fish were sick or behaving strangely, but because the habitat could not support the same densities we observed on non-acidified reefs. With fewer fish around, the shoals that did form were much smaller: up to 79% smaller than shoals on nearby control reefs. And with smaller shoals came more cautious behaviour across the board.
Oyster farming lines at Lambert Shellfish on the Eastern Shore in Virginia on May 28, 2026. Katherine Hafner/WHRO News
Shellfish farmers are working with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science to better understand the looming issue.
Shellfish such as clams, crabs and oysters need tiny building blocks called calcium carbonate ions to grow and thrive.
These particles are essential to build sturdy shells that protect marine creatures from predators – and make them more appealing for human diners.
But rising acidity tied to climate change is making it harder for shellfish to access those fundamental building blocks.
The issue caught officials’ attention in the late 2000s when acidic corrosion caused mass die-offs of baby oysters in the Pacific Northwest.
Researchers at William & Mary’s Batten School and Virginia Institute of Marine Science have teamed up with local shellfish farmers to learn more about how changing conditions could impact the aquaculture industry in coastal Virginia.
“We know the threat exists,” said Emily Rivest, an associate professor in ecosystem health at the Batten School and VIMS. “This gives us the opportunity to try to get ahead of it to understand how to build our resilience and prevent those kinds of dramatic negative impacts.”
The project is funded by a $1.2 million grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Ocean Acidification Program.
The ocean absorbs about a third of the climate-warming carbon dioxide humans release into the atmosphere. That causes a cascade of chemical changes underwater, including reducing pH levels.
For millions of years, the ocean’s pH remained relatively stable at 8.2 on the pH scale, which ranges to 14, the most basic. Since the start of the Industrial Revolution, it has dropped to 8.1. Because the scale is logarithmic, that represents a nearly 30% increase in acidity, according to NOAA.
In much of the Chesapeake Bay, the rate of change is happening even more quickly, particularly in the middle, VIMS previously found.
One factor is freshwater. When freshwater surges into the bay, it lowers the amount of salt in the water, which makes it more susceptible to acidity, Rivest said. That has sometimes affected restored oyster reefs on the western side of the Eastern Shore.
Pollution from nutrients washing off land into the bay compounds the issue by triggering algae that produce carbon dioxide when eaten by bacteria, Rivest said.
Luckily, natural variability in the Chesapeake Bay “has shaped the eastern oyster to be a very tough and resilient species,” Rivest said.
Lab tests indicate local oysters are “much more tolerant of acidification” than out West. The question is: What is their breaking point?
