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Coastal acidification in southeastern U.S. estuaries and coastal waters is influenced by biological activity, run-off from the land, and increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Acidification can negatively impact coastal resources such as shellfish, finfish, and coral reefs, and the communities that rely on them. Organismal responses for species located in the U.S. Southeast document large negative impacts of acidification, especially in larval stages. For example, the toxicity of pesticides increases under acidified conditions and the combination of acidification and low oxygen has profoundly negative influences on genes regulating oxygen consumption. In corals, the rate of calcification decreases with acidification and processes such as wound recovery, reproduction, and recruitment are negatively impacted. Minimizing the changes in global ocean chemistry will ultimately depend on the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions, but adaptation to these changes and mitigation of the local stressors that exacerbate global acidification can be addressed locally. The evolution of our knowledge of acidification, from basic understanding of the problem to the emergence of applied research and monitoring, has been facilitated by the development of regional Coastal Acidification Networks (CANs) across the United States. This synthesis is a product of the Southeast Coastal and Ocean Acidification Network (SOCAN). SOCAN was established to better understand acidification in the coastal waters of the U.S. Southeast and to foster communication among scientists, resource managers, businesses, and governments in the region. Here we review acidification issues in the U.S. Southeast, including the regional mechanisms of acidification and their potential impacts on biological resources and coastal communities. We recommend research and monitoring priorities and discuss the role SOCAN has in advancing acidification research and mitigation of and adaptation to these changes.

The Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association (SECOORA) is maturing into an organization that can effectively coordinate the development and evolution of a comprehensive coastal ocean observing program for the Southeast U.S. Strategies are being developed to productively integrate the existing base of legacy assets (including observation systems and platforms, data analysis and management centers, research efforts, educational initiatives, and personnel) and the wide spectrum of current and potential stakeholders. There are many direct and indirect applications of the data and information derived from coastal ocean observing systems, and the issues related to coastal natural hazards are of particular interest in the southeastern U.S. Risks to life, property, and natural resources from natural hazard events will increase due to the projected increase in storm frequency and intensity and growth of the region's coastal population over the next several decades. Unprecedented hurricane damage and human despair that resulted from the 2005 hurricane season has tested government response at all levels, revealing unanswered questions regarding the level of our preparedness to deal with and respond to disasters of this magnitude. SECOORA provides a regional coordination and planning mechanism by which coastal inundation forecasting and mitigation efforts can be initiated and addressed through collaborative efforts in the Southeast U.S. among its sub-regional observing systems and their numerical modeling and data management capabilities.

Aquaculture in the United States has the potential to become a major growth industry in the 21st Century. However, a number of issues continue to constrain the development of marine aquaculture in the United States. The campier and diverse nature of the industry, conflicts with other, more traditional uses of the nation’s coastal and ocean waters, environmental concerns, and the existing legal and regulatory climate all contribute to this situation. If the domestic marine aquaculture industry is to succeed and grow in the future, these issues must be resolved. First, the United States must reevaluate and reaffirm the nation’s aquaculture policy. Second, the couuntry must support sustainable marine aquaculture. Marine aquaculture in coastal and offshore waters of the United States must be developed with an eye toward sustainability—with a goal of producing products while conserving natural resources. Third, assuming the United States is truly committed to the development of the marine aquaculture industry, mechanisms must be put into place to refine existing measures and establish new implementation measures to guide its growth. The key to the future of marine aquaculture in the United State is the creation of technological and policy systems that provide for sustainable marine aquaculture. Systems that will move the industry forward will require an unequivocal commitment by the nation’s political leadership to create them, by the federal bureaucracy to implement them, by the academic community to generate and extend information to improve them, and by the industry to put then into practice.

The results of a nationwide survey on the status of state aquaculture plans were examined to determine the extent to which states have developed planning strategies to support commercial aqua-culture development and are promoting the aquaculture industry. Initial phone contacts were conducted to identify appropriate aquaculture contacts in all of the states and territories. Each contact was then sent a questionnaire which addressed the contents and status of that state's aquaculture plan. Questions included the year of adoption, partners in development, impetus for development, content of plan, action items identified, items successfully implemented, and significance to industry. Coastal states were further questioned on inclusion of an aquacul-ture component in their Coastal Zone Management (CZM) Plans. Twenty of the 44 respondents have adopted a state aquaculture plan. Six of the 44 respondents are currently planning to develop a plan within the next five years. Ten of the eighteen responding c...

Shrimp culture technology has resulted in development of a major shrimp farming industry worldwide. Without the shrimp farming industry, increasing demands for shrimp by consumers could not be met, resulting in increased pressure on wild shrimp resources. Unfortunately, there are realized and potential adverse environmental effects on estuarine ecosystems as a result of shrimp farming. The effects can be categorized as wetland destruction for construction of shrimp farms, hypernutrification of estuarine ecosystems by shrim pond effluent, “biological pollution” of native shrimp stocks through escapement of aquaculture stocks, water use and entrainment of estuarine biota, and impacts of shrimp farm chemicals on estuarine systems. While the shrimp farming industry in the United States is small, the United States is effectively addressing all the realized and potential environmental impacts through regulation and research at the federal and state levels. Areas of regulation and research include stringent prohibitions on wetland destruction, regulation of effluents and support of research to eliminate and/or reduce effluents, escapement prevention technology and development of high-health stocks, minimizing entrainment of estuarine biota through water conservation and screening technology, and regulation of chemical use in the shrimp farming industry and support of research on shrimp pathology and environmentally safe disease control. Work is still in progress and not all problems have been resolved to the complete satisfaction of shrimp farmers and estuarine conservationists. However, the situation in the United States should serve as a model of how to encourage sustainable economic development through commercial shrimp farming while abating adverse environmental impacts on estuarine systems. To further improve the situation, the development and adoption of “best management practices” for shrimp aquaculture are recommended.