Hypoxia News

NOAA-supported scientists announced that this year’s Gulf of America hypoxic zone is approximately 1,332 square miles, making it the 2nd smallest zone on record in 40 years of measurement. Hypoxic areas, also called “dead zones,” are areas with little to no oxygen in the water, which can negatively impact fish, shellfish, corals and aquatic plants by making critical habitat unavailable to bottom species. The annual hypoxic zone survey was led by scientists at Louisiana State University and the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON).