June 20, 2024 — NOAA scientists are predicting the Gulf of Mexico’s fish-killing dead zone will be larger than average this summer.
The dead zone is a hypoxic area roughly the size of the U.S. state of Connecticut with low oxygen levels that can kill off tens of thousands of fish. Caused by excess nutrient pollution from human activity along the Mississippi-Atchafalaya watershed, the dead zone affects fish every summer.