Oceans where fishes choke - Marine scientists express disquiet

2:54 PM Tue 30 Nov 2010 GMT

'The above map shows concentrations of phytoplankton, the algal blooms that contribute to dead zones, in Gulf Coast waters.' NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visual

Australian marine scientists have expressed disquiet over the continued worldwide spread of large, dead zones in the ocean. Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg and Associate Professor Mark McCormick of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies have recently published scientific articles which raise concern about the impact of large areas of ocean emerging which are so low in oxygen that fish and other sea life cannot survive. Hundreds of dead zones are being reported around the world in areas that have been overfished and where rich nutrient runoff from the land is causing blooms of algae which lead in turn ...

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by ARC Centre of Excellence Coral Reef Studies