05/09/05

 

                                    Who is Affected
  • Organisms living in Gulf (shrimp, fish, benthos, crabs, etc)
  • Fishing and Shrimp Industry
  • Local People

                                  Affected Organisms

  • Oxygen supply is reduced or completely lost.
  • Food base is reduced and/or lost
  • Habitat is reduced and/or lost
  • Migratory and spawning patterns of certain organisms are disturbed.
  • Reproduction of species is reduced.
  • The low amount of oxygen in the dead zone causes any animal to either leave to another area or die.
  • The dead zone blocks certain organisms, such as shrimp, from reaching their offshore spawning grounds where they reproduce, resulting in a lower reproduction rate.
  • Bottom-dwellers that aren't very mobile such as crabs, snails, clams, starfish, and worms eventually suffocate.


 

 

 

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_zone
 

Fish and Shrimp Industry

  • The massive fish kills, altered migration patterns of shrimp, reduced reproduction rate, and loss of suitable habitat for the spawning of fish, shrimp, and crabs greatly affects the fishing industry.

  • These factors affect and reduce the number of fish available to be caught.

  • The economic impact could become more serious if the dead zone continues to grow. The coast faces the risk of developing hypoxia sever enough to wipe out almost the entire commercial fishery.

People Affected

  • The main person the dead zone affects is the fishermen who fish this hypoxia area.

  • When fewer fish are available in an area, fishermen will still have to account for enough shrimp and fish to make a living.  This causes fishermen to have to spend more time and effort in fishing areas farther away to keep up yields.

  • Because fishermen are having to go farther to fish, they are forced to spend more money on additional fuel, machinery, and labor costs.  This in turn affects the amount of income that the fishermen will receive.

  • The excess nitrogen and phosphorus stimulate the growth of phytoplankton.  These microscopic plants, in turn, support the rest of the marine food web.  However, as these plants die and sink to the bottom, the natural decomposition of this plant material depletes the deeper waters of the Gulf of what little oxygen it may have.

  • The excess algae and plant growth results in stinky, algae-choked waters and fish kills.

  • It also causes a nasty, dirty appearance to the water.

  • This type of water is bad for local people and even for tourists.

 

 

 


 

 

www.smm.org/deadzone/infected/you.html

 


 

     

This site was last updated 05/09/05