Herrera Beutler and Derek Kilmer introduce ocean acidification bill

Acidification is a result of increasing carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels. When carbon dioxide — a chief “greenhouse gas” — is absorbed by the oceans, chemical reactions occur that change the pH level in the seawater, making it more acidic. As a result, the water eats away at oyster larvae shells and kills them, according to marine biologists and oyster growers.

“The shellfish industry in Pacific County that produces 25 percent of our nation’s oysters continues to struggle against the negative effects attributed to ocean acidification,” Herrera Beutler said in a press release. “Our common-sense bill uses incentives to better understand and find solutions for this rising threat.”

Dick Wilson, the owner of Bay Center Farms at Willapa Bay and a former geology professor at the University of Oregon and Southern Oregon University, said he’s worried about ocean acidification.

“It is a serious problem, and it’s ... becoming more evident that the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increasing,” Wilson said. “As it increases, the carbon dioxide in the ocean becomes more prevalent, and it impacts those things that rely on calcareous deposits to build their shells.”