A satellite has identified a monster algae bloom off the New Jersey coast that could soon affect fishing and beachgoers.
Images from the NOAA satellite show a swirling blueish green blob stretching from Brooklyn past Sandy Hook all the way down to Cape May — a distance of more than 100 miles.
An arm of the bloom extends east from Long Beach Island for dozens of miles, then curls north and northeast across the middle of the New York Bight, also for a distance of about 100 miles.
When the algae dies in the next week or so, it could cause a huge dead zone just off shore.
"If there's no way for oxygen to be replenished, yes it could have an impact on fish," said Josh Kohut, an assistant professor at Rutgers' Marine and Coastal Sciences school.
Kohut explained that, as algae dies and sinks to the ocean floor, it is eaten by bacteria.
Kohut said the bloom was caused by an unfortunate combination of southwesterly winds that allowed the upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich waters to come to the surface.
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