Jul 14, 2015

"DEAD ZONES!" Tons of dead sardine off the Mexican coast and Alaskan whale deaths puzzle scientists - July 14, 2015


Also Read: Mass Animal Deaths for 2015 (Death Animals, Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, sinkholes and flooding all in one - what the heck is going on?) - June 13, 2015

**** Translated from Spanish ****

In yet another dead fish mystery along the North American West Coast several tons of dead fish wash up along the coast of Chiapas, Mexico
Tapachula, Chiapas - thousands of dead fish were found on the coast of Chiapas so authorities deployed an operation to remove them.
Staff from the Fourteenth Naval District in this city yesterday removed several tons of sardines, sources of that institution.
With boats, shovels on the edge of the coast, Semar elements involved in the work to remove the dead animals.
"It's pure sardine that is dying," said Gabriel Sanchez, a fisherman from Puerto Chiapas.
No authority has informed the possible cause of the fish kill, although unofficial sources indicated that it could be red tide.
Further north in Alaska whale deaths in Gulf of Alaska puzzle scientists
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – More dead whales have been found in the Gulf of Alaska following the sightings of nine fin whale carcasses in late May and early June.
The Alaska Dispatch News reports that fishermen, pilots and survey crews have reported five additional dead whales over the past several weeks, including four humpbacks and one fin whale. University of Alaska Fairbanks marine mammal specialist Kate Wynne says one theory is that the whales died from a toxin related to warmth-induced algae blooms in the Gulf of Alaska waters.
But she says scientists have tested a sample taken from the partially decomposed carcass of a dead fin whale and it did not contain the algae-produced toxin domoic acid.
Other results are still pending.

Mexico source

Alaska source


Dead zones are hypoxic (low-oxygen) areas in the world's oceans and large lakes, caused by "excessive nutrient pollution from human activities coupled with other factors that deplete the oxygen required to support most marine life in bottom and near-bottom water.
In the 1970s oceanographers began noting increased instances of dead zones.
These occur near inhabited coastlines, where aquatic life is most concentrated.
(The vast middle portions of the oceans, which naturally have little life, are not considered "dead zones".)

Wikipedia


Red circles show the location and size of many dead zones. Black dots show dead zones of unknown size. The size and number of marine dead zones—areas where the deep water is so low in dissolved oxygen that sea creatures can't survive—have grown explosively in the past half-century