LONGVIEW — Southwest Washington Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler on Thursday reintroduced bipartisan legislation to use prize competitions to fight ocean acidification, which threatens the state’s multimillion dollar crab and shellfish industries.
The legislation, called the Ocean Acidification Innovation Act, would allow federal agencies to use existing funds to hold prize competitions to improve the ability to research, monitor and manage ocean acidification, according to a press release.
“Our coastal communities depend on a healthy shellfish and fishing industry,” Herrera Beutler, a Battle Ground Republican, said in the release.
“Ocean acidification threatens those jobs and the health of the ocean’s ecosystem, which is why we’re offering this bipartisan bill that will help us better understand the problem and find solutions.”
Northwest Oregon Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, a Democrat whose district includes Columbia and Clatsop counties, is co-sponsoring the bill along with U.S. Reps. Derek Kilmer, D-Wash., and Don Young, R-Alaska.
Herrera Beutler on Thursday was also appointed to the Science, Space and Technology Committee, which has jurisdiction over the ocean acidification bill.
“With her new post, Herrera Beutler plans to get to work right away on advancing this important bill,” her office said in a press release.
Oceans have become 30 percent more acidic over the past 200 years since the industrial revolution began, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The ocean absorbs about 30 percent of the carbon dioxide that is released into the atmosphere, therefore as greenhouse gas emissions increase, so does oceanic acidity.
Increased carbon dioxide in the water can cripple the ability of oysters, clams, sea urchins, corals and some types of plankton to build their shells, according to NOAA. These marine organisms are part of the food chain for salmon, herring and other fish.
Ocean chemistry changes can also hinder the ability of other sea creatures to find prey or suitable habitat, potentially disrupting the entire food chain.
Scientists at the University of Washington recently reported that ocean acidification threatens the region’s $220 million Dungeness crab fishery, according to the press release.
The Ocean Acidification Innovation Act would allow prize competitions as an an incentive for others to research and find solutions to the problem, according to the release.
The bill was created in collaboration with stakeholders such as the XPRIZE Foundation, a nonprofit that creates public competitions to encourage investments to solve major societal problems. One such prize for personal spaceflight technology helped launch a new $2 billion private space industry, according to the release.
Commercial fishing and seafood processing industries in Washington contribute 15,900 direct jobs and $9.4 billion in revenue to the economy, according to the release.
A 2015 report by the Washington Sea Grant found that Washington is the nation’s leading producer of farmed clams, oysters, and mussels.
The Washington Shellfish Initiative estimated that state shellfish growers directly and indirectly employ more than 2,700 people and provide an estimated total economic contribution of $184 million.
