Ocean "dead zones" spread, fish more at risk: study
The number of polluted "dead zones" in the world's oceans is rising fast and coastal fish stocks are more vulnerable to collapse than previously feared, scientists said on Monday.
The spread of "dead zones" -- areas of oxygen-starved water -- "is emerging as a major threat to coastal ecosystems globally," the scientists wrote in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Such zones are found from the Gulf of Mexico to the Baltic Sea in areas where algae bloom and suck oxygen from the water, feeding on fertilizers washed from fields, sewage, animal wastes and pollutants from the burning of fossil fuels.
Read more here
The spread of "dead zones" -- areas of oxygen-starved water -- "is emerging as a major threat to coastal ecosystems globally," the scientists wrote in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Such zones are found from the Gulf of Mexico to the Baltic Sea in areas where algae bloom and suck oxygen from the water, feeding on fertilizers washed from fields, sewage, animal wastes and pollutants from the burning of fossil fuels.
Read more here
Tags: dead, fossil, fuel, gulf, mexico, ocean, of, pollution, zone
Comment
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Comment by Jeff on September 30, 2008 at 7:15pm - I'll warn you (if you're a seafood lover): it will make your life very difficult going forward. I haven't eaten shrimp since reading it (although I have identified some sustainable sources that I'm looking forward to trying.
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Comment by Kenneth Westling on September 30, 2008 at 6:45pm - Thanks Jeff. Just bought it! I'll let you know what I thought of it when I get done with it.
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Comment by Jeff on September 30, 2008 at 11:14am
- This is a HUGE issue. Anyone interested in understanding the impact our behavior is having on the oceans should read Bottom Feeder by Taras Grescoe.
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