Researchers expect record dead zone in Gulf of Mexico this year

Researchers say the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico could be the largest on record and continue to threaten the over half billion dollar gulf coast seafood industry.

Scientists are predicting the area could measure between 8,500 and 9,421 square miles, or an area roughly the size of New Hampshire.  
The largest hypoxic zone measured to date occurred in 2002 and encompassed more than 8,400 square miles. 

The Gulf dead zone forms each spring and summer off the Louisiana and Texas coast when oxygen levels drop too low to support most life in bottom and near-bottom waters.

The zone is caused by nitrates and nitrogen from fertilizer and urban runoff flowing down the Mississippi River.

Heavy flooding on the Mississippi this year is expected to make the problem worse.
The dockside value of commercial fisheries in the Gulf is estimated at $629 million.
Nearly three million recreational fishermen add more than $1 billion dollars to the Gulf Coast economy.


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