The Black Sea is a historically important one when it comes
to deadzones. At its worse during the
1970’s-80’s the black sea ecosystem collapsed.
The collapse was due to several factors, the most major being massive
amounts of nitrogen (in the form of fertilizer) being injected into the system,
leading to the collapse. From that collapse
an estimated 60millon tons of organisms were lost, 5 million of which were
fish. Resulting economic impacts were
huge, losses in the fishing and tourism industries totaling near 2.5 billon.
Then came the collapse of the Soviet Union, and with it huge
reduction in fertilizers. Recently because
of the complete turnaround in environmental strains the black sea deadzone is
almost nonexistent.
The Black Sea’s history is a poignant one, highlighting the
direct relation between farming practices, environmental degradation, and subsequent
recovery. Hopefully, with this historical
example, places like the Gulf of Mexico, or the Mediterranean Sea, history will
not repeat itself, and the environments/people will not have to go through such
wrenching calamity.
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