West Africa hypoxic zone ‘roughly the size of the continental United States, and it’s growing’

[Barrett808]

Billfish and tuna, important commercial and recreational fish species, may be more vulnerable to fishing pressure because of shrinking habitat according to a new study published by scientists from NOAA, The Billfish Foundation, and University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.

An expanding zone of low oxygen, known as a hypoxic zone, in the Atlantic Ocean is encroaching upon these species’ preferred oxygen-abundant habitat, forcing them into shallower waters where they are more likely to be caught. ...

West Africa hypoxic zone ‘roughly the size of the continental United States, and it’s growing’

[tabatha]

1. That is scary.

[truedelphi]

2. I was wondering about this the other night.

"Animal Planet" had some one hour documentary involving someone in a small sailboat, whose sailboat ripped apart in the Atlantic Ocean.

They moved onto their small rubber life dinghy. And they expected to be able to catch fish - only for days and days, there was nothing in the ocean for them to catch. Not until they got much closer to e the Carribean then they thought they would need to be, were they able to catch some seafood.

Back in my adolescence, I would read about Jacques Cousteau, and all his reports of how wonderfully abundant the seas were. Anywhere you went, there were fish and more fish.

And now the hypoxic zones are gaining a "foothold." (Or a "seahold.") And this was occurring well before the BP oil spill.

Now it will be even worse.

[Kaleva]

3. It's a myth that everywhere in the seas, there were abundant fish.

[truedelphi]

4. What I don't know about the seas, or about fish,

Could fill an ocean. (I do know I like most fish fried with lots of sauted garlic. Yum)

But one thing I should point out: the guy in the life boat did know the sea. And he was aware of the fact that where he was initially would have been an okay place to fish.

Except it wasn't.