Solutions

Because dead zones are created by the runoff of chemical nutrients into bodies of water, the reversal of dead zones would require new laws and policies that modify agricultural techniques, monitor and control the amount of chemical and urban waste runoff, and increase dead zone prevention research.  In addition to agricultural and sewage waste changes, commercial fishing adjustments are necessary for dead zone recovery.

The Black Sea is an example of a dead zone that has been reversed.  By the mid-1980’s, the Black Sea became very polluted by eutrophication, causing a decrease in fisheries and tourism (Global Partnership for Oceans 2013).  By 1990, the Black Sea dead zone reached 40,000 km².  Soon after, Russia’s economy fell, leaving its government unable to subsidize fertilizer for farmers, which unintentionally saved the ocean from the fertilizer pollution (Diaz & Rosenberg 2008).  Since there was less discharge poured into the sea by fertilizer nutrients, the Black Sea dead zone was able to increase its oxygen levels and reverse its state of hypoxia.  At that same time, the international community began to take action, as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) stepped in and started searching for the causes of the dead zone, finding solutions to the problems, and strengthening policies to maintain the ocean in the future (Global Partnership for Oceans 2013).  After finding that nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen from farms were the main cause of the Black Sea dead zone, the UNDP helped adjust water treatment facilities, address urban wastewater pollution, and advocate the use of recycled manure on farms in order to cut back on fertilizer and the runoff of animal wastes into bodies of water (Global Partnership for Oceans 2013).  Governments from nations surrounding the Black Sea as well as the United Nations Global Environment Facility have also similarly arranged to advance farming and waste treatment to manage nutrient runoff levels (Mee 2006).

Efforts of the UNDP have led to the reversal of the Black Sea dead zone.

(Global Partnership for Oceans 2013)

By managing nutrient and sewage wastes, the Hudson and East Rivers in New York have eliminated their dead zones, along with the Mersey and Thames in England  (Diaz & Rosenberg 2008).  The Mississippi River dead zones are being addressed by the Obama Administration policies with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Mississippi River Basin Healthy Waters Initiative (Petteway 2010).  Scientific methods are being used to assist farmers in 13 states in reducing the effect of fertilizers and improving water quality by using techniques such as nutrient and tillage management as well as crop covering and rotation.

Overall, environmentalists believe that in order to reverse the dead zones in places such as the Chesapeake Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is necessary to decrease the amount of phosphorus and nitrogen that runs into these bodies of water.  Advancing sewage treatment plants and adjusting agricultural ways are methods to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus leaks.  Other suggestions for improving dead zones include using no more than the necessary amount of fertilizer for plants, initiating and refurbishing wetlands, and changing crop rotations and tilling procedures (Erickson 2011).  The U.S. Agricultural Department’s conservation programs are funded under the Farm Bill to initiate these efforts, but the funding is insufficient, leaving many of these suggestions unfulfilled (Erickson 2011).

Finally, commercial fishing must decrease to allow smaller, struggling species to recover.  In addition, the trawls and dredges of fishing boats can harm fishes, causing a larger decrease in species (Mee 2013).  In order to reach these efforts, an international agreement has been procured to create a “global network of marine protected areas by 2012” (Mee 2013).  This will help to slow down overfishing and allow for the specie’s recovery in the dead zones.  The U.S. government is also funding the renovation of wetlands along the Gulf of Mexico to ensure that the water is filtered before it flows into the gulf (Bruckner 2013).

Works Cited

Babcock, B. & Kling, C. (2008) Costs and Benefits of Fixing Gulf Hypoxia. Center for Agricultural and Rural Development. Iowa State University. (Date Accessed: February 10, 2013.) http://www.card.iastate.edu/iowa_ag_review/fall_08/article4.aspx

Bruckner, M. (2012) The Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone. Microbial Life Educational Resources. Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College. (Date Accessed: February 11, 2013.)

Diaz, J. & Rosenberg, R. (2008) Spreading Dead Zones and Consequences for Marine Ecosystems. Science AAAS. Science Mag. (Date Accessed: February 10, 2013.) http://water.epa.gov/type/watersheds/named/msbasin/upload/2008_08_15_msbasin_diaz_article.pdf

Erickson, J. (2011) Great big trouble for the Great Lakes. Michigan Today. University of Michigan. (Date Accessed: February 11, 2013.) http://michigantoday.umich.edu/2011/07/story.php?id=8027#.USbYN83ZfJF

Global Partnership for Oceans. (2013) Returning the Black Sea to Blue. Global Partnership for Oceans. (Date Accessed: February 11, 2013.) http://www.globalpartnershipforoceans.org/key-issues/returning-black-sea-blue

Mee, L. (2006) Reviving Dead Zones. Faculty Bennington. (Date Accessed: February 11, 2013.) http://faculty.bennington.edu/~sherman/the%20ocean%20project/reviving%20dead%20zones.pdf

Natural Resources Conservation Service. (2012) Mississippi River Basin Health Watershed Initiative. Natural Resources Conservation Service. United States Department of Agriculture. (Date Accessed: February 11, 2013.) http://www.ar.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/mrbi.html

Petteway, T. (2010) New Report Warns of Expanding Threat of Hypoxia in U.S. Coastal Waters/Declining Oxygen Levels in Nation’s Waters Forming Dead Zones, Destroying Habitats. United States Environmental Protection Agency.  (Date Accessed: February 10, 2013.) http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/a7b2ee8e45551c138525735900404444/c4a5f4098d1a719485257793005b4554!opendocument