The article titled, The Economic Impact of Ocean Acidification on Shellfish Production in Europe, is unique in the sense that very little research has been done regarding economic impacts of ocean acidification. Given that all shelled marine organisms and coral reefs are dependent on calcium carbonate, used to form their hard surfaces, which is depleted by carbonic acid it is imperative to start looking at the economic effects on the seafood industry as well as the tourism industry. Europe and its nearby regions are significant producers of mollusks and in this case, economic data from mollusk fisheries needed to be obtained and analyzed to determine any economic downfalls that correspond with the beginning of the significant rise in the ocean’s acidity. They chose to perform a partial-equilibrium analysis to determine the highest levels of overall impact. They determined that the countries with the highest production rates, France, Italy and Spain, are being impacted the greatest. That being said, it was also noted that the distribution of impact is rather uneven across countries, with the most affected areas being those along the Atlantic coast of France which is a region of great importance for oyster production. Their economic analysis led them to determine that the annual impact will be over 1 billion USD in 2100 for Europe as a whole, which is extremely significant. This research is both substantial and well done, and will hopefully demonstrate to others in the field that economic analysis is crucial to getting corporations to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions. Ocean acidification is a severe issue that is rarely discussed when talking about climate change, and I hope that readers will consider the ways in which their consumption habits are producing carbon dioxide and acknowledge that it is taking a severe toll on our oceans and the marine life that many depend on for sustenance. 

Narita, Daju, Rehdanz, Katrin, The Economic Impact of Ocean Acidification on Shellfish Production in Europe. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, pp 500-518.