WTNH News Channel 8 / News / 1999

	Fish fall victim to mix of warm and cool waters (Groton-WTNH) _ Every summer fish and shellfish in Long Island Sound have to fight for their lives. Countless numbers of them die from a condition known as 'hypoxia'. Essentially it's when there's not enough oxygen in the water. It occurs in the summer when warm, oxygen-rich water sits on top of colder water. If creatures at the bottom can't move away fast enough they suffocate. News Channel 8's Peter Standring has more on this problem from our southeastern newsroom at The Day. It may seem strange but every summer countless numbers of fish suffocate in Long Island Sound. It's a condition known as 'hypoxia'. Seth Yarish, Project Oceanology: "The basic cause is: there's more oxygen being used-up than there is being produced... What happens is, you've got light and algae at the surface photosynthesizing, producing oxygen, and that water doesn't mix with the water below it." It doesn't 'mix' because in the summer a layer of warm water settles over the cooler water. the oxygen disappears from the bottom and can't be replaced. Unfortunately this phenomenon occurs every year usually in late July and August. It's been hotter than normal so scientists say the oxygen problem will be even worse this summer. For certain species it's either move or perish. Yarish: "Animals that can swim, basically pelagic fish, swim out of the way... Animals that don't move as quickly - lobsters, oysters, scallops, mussels - are trapped there and they'll die." No one knows how many die each year but even these young people realize that if the 'hypoxia' problem gets any more severe some sealife may disappear completely. Dawn Holman, Groton: "It's a very big problem that needs to be taken care of because otherwise you're gonna start losing wild life around here and that's key to New England." Also key reducing the amount of nitrogen in the sound. Nitrogen comes from sewage and fertilizer. When it builds-up so does algae that uses the oxygen the fish need to survive. James Stone, Mystic Aquarium: "The ocean is a big place and everyone thinks we can do whatever we want and it'll recover, and we're beginning to see that that may not be the case." The eastern half of Long Island Sound isn't effected by 'hypoxia' because it's closer to the ocean and the water is colder. Today's News Page. WTNH Home Page. ©1999 WTNH/WTNH-DT A LIN station.

Fish fall victim to mix of warm and cool waters
(Groton-WTNH) _ Every summer fish and shellfish in Long Island Sound have to fight for their lives. Countless numbers of them die from a condition known as 'hypoxia'. Essentially it's when there's not enough oxygen in the water. It occurs in the summer when warm, oxygen-rich water sits on top of colder water. If creatures at the bottom can't move away fast enough they suffocate.
News Channel 8's Peter Standring has more on this problem from our southeastern newsroom at The Day.

It may seem strange but every summer countless numbers of fish suffocate in Long Island Sound. It's a condition known as 'hypoxia'.

Seth Yarish, Project Oceanology: "The basic cause is: there's more oxygen being used-up than there is being produced... What happens is, you've got light and algae at the surface photosynthesizing, producing oxygen, and that water doesn't mix with the water below it."

It doesn't 'mix' because in the summer a layer of warm water settles over the cooler water. the oxygen disappears from the bottom and can't be replaced.

Unfortunately this phenomenon occurs every year usually in late July and August. It's been hotter than normal so scientists say the oxygen problem will be even worse this summer. For certain species it's either move or perish.

Yarish: "Animals that can swim, basically pelagic fish, swim out of the way... Animals that don't move as quickly - lobsters, oysters, scallops, mussels - are trapped there and they'll die."

No one knows how many die each year but even these young people realize that if the 'hypoxia' problem gets any more severe some sealife may disappear completely.

Dawn Holman, Groton: "It's a very big problem that needs to be taken care of because otherwise you're gonna start losing wild life around here and that's key to New England."

Also key reducing the amount of nitrogen in the sound. Nitrogen comes from sewage and fertilizer. When it builds-up so does algae that uses the oxygen the fish need to survive.

James Stone, Mystic Aquarium: "The ocean is a big place and everyone thinks we can do whatever we want and it'll recover, and we're beginning to see that that may not be the case."

The eastern half of Long Island Sound isn't effected by 'hypoxia' because it's closer to the ocean and the water is colder.

Today's News Page.

WTNH Home Page.