WASHINGTON DC (8 Apr 2002) -- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a report stating that nearly half of all US coastal waters are too damaged to fully support aquatic life. The EPA gave poor marks to the Great Lakes and the Northeast including the Great South Bay on New York's Long Island, which used to produce more clams than any other place in the United States. But the harvest has steadily declined since 1976 and the local clamming industry is on the verge of collapse. "Certain clamming areas are closed after rain because of runoff," said fisherman Gordon Roman. "People are making livings other ways." The worst coastal waters were found in the Gulf of Mexico where fishing has completely collapsed in many areas. The EPA found waters off the Southeast and West coasts to be in better condition but even those areas were rated as only "fair." "It varies around the country," said EPA Administrator Christie Todd Whitman. "It varies up and down the coast. It certainly tells us there are serious problems we need to address." Many estuaries, which act to filter pollution and protect marine life are threatened by runoff from farms, lawns, roads and construction sites. | | The Gulf of Mexico collects pollutants from 40 percent of the land in the continental US and a dead zone (also known as Gulf hypoxia) where the Mississippi River empties into the Gulf has doubled in size since researchers first mapped it in 1985. (see CDNN news report "Gulf of Mexico dead zone now covers 20,000 square kilometers") "Unfortunately, the Gulf of Mexico has been treated as somewhat of a sewer by the rest of the United States," said Mark Muhich of the Sierra Club. Environmental groups welcomed the report but many conservationists blame the EPA for understating the problem. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORKSCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
