UNEP lists Pearl River Estuary as dead zone

[DocMartin]

Given this report from UNEP, must be glad Mai Po/Deep Bay remains an excellent wetland, though in decline; and that the Chinese white dolphins survive (living in giant sewer doesn't help their prospects).

Quote:

The Yangtze River and Pearl River estuaries have been listed as newly registered "dead zones," according to a study released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Dead zones, or low oxygenated areas in the world's seas and oceans, are places where nutrients from fertilizer runoff, sewage, animal waste and the burning of fossil fuels trigger algae blooms. The algae blooms need oxygen and remove it from water, endangering other marine life. The number and size of deoxygenated areas has risen each decade since the 1970s. Experts warn that these areas are fast becoming major threats to fish stocks, and to people who depend upon fisheries for food and livelihoods. The major pollutants affecting seawater off China were inorganic nitrogen and active phosphate in 2005, according to a report on pollution of the marine environment released this week by the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA). The report said 500,000 tons of ammonia nitrogen and 30,000 tons of phosphate from land-based activities floated into the sea last year.

Yangtze and Pearl river estuaries now 'dead zones'

UNEP news release about new dead zones listings is at: Further Rise in Number of Marine Dead Zones Global Programme Action Global (GPA) for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Sources-2nd Intergovernmental Review – are links from this to further info.

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