August 2, 2024 — More than 4 million acres of marine life habitat have become a “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico, threatening the lives of fish and other marine animals, NOAA said on Thursday. Although this is an annual issue in the Gulf, this year’s is far larger than anticipated, with an area roughly the size of New Jersey.
The dead zone is an area where there is very little to no oxygen, a situation known as hypoxia, that NOAA says can kill fish and marine life. In June, NOAA predicted an area of 5,827 square miles, roughly the size of Connecticut. But on Thursday, the agency said it has grown to roughly 6,705 square miles, equating to more than 4 million acres of habitat and more than 1,000 square miles larger than anticipated.
It’s the 12th-largest dead zone the agency has recorded in 38 years of measurement — and well above a goal set out by researchers to reduce the area.
According to NOAA, scientists have made it a goal to reduce the average area to fewer than 1,900 square miles by 2035 to help improve the health of the marine ecosystem. As it stands, the five-year average is now nearly 4,300 square miles, more than twice as large as that target.