© WWLTV Eyewitness News
New Orleans-- For years now, scientists have been monitoring the development of a massive dead zone off the coast of south Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico.
Now, new research is showing the presence of another underwater area lacking oxygen and life -- this time in the Chandeleur Sound, east of St. Bernard Parish.
Gulf waters include some of the richest areas for seafood in the country, and part of that critical habitat includes the Chandeleur Sound.
"This general area is a major path for migration of fish," said Dr. John Lopez of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation.
Deep below the surface, life may be struggling. The Foundation, along with the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCOM), recently decided to share their findings with each other concerning the dead zone in the Chandeleur Sound.
What they discovered was that the
dead zone is four times larger than they initially thought. It covers more than a 1,000 square miles, stretching from the Chandeleur Islands, east to the Florida Panhandle and possibly beyond.