Another Average “Dead Zone” Predicted for Gulf of Mexico in 2016
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] June 10, 2016
Scientists forecast that this year’s Gulf of Mexico dead zone–an area of low to no oxygen that can kill fish and marine life–will be approximately 5,898 square miles or about the size of Connecticut – the same range as it has averaged over the last several years.
The dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico affects nationally important commercial and recreational fisheries. Hypoxic zones or “dead zones” are caused by high levels of nutrients, and the low oxygen levels cannot support most marine life and habitats in near-bottom waters. Reducing nutrients flowing to the Gulf would help the situation since, under normal conditions, this area contains a diversity of marine life, critical habitats, and a number of ...
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