Since 1985, scientists have been documenting a “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico each summer, an area of low dissolved oxygen that cannot support marine life. Oxygen depletion begins in late spring, reaches a maximum in midsummer, and disappears in fall. To address this problem, the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Task Force was formed to bring together representatives from federal agencies, states and tribes to consider options for responding to hypoxia. The Task Force produced a 2001 Action Plan based on ten management actions designed to reduce the extent of hypoxia and improve water quality.

In 2006, the EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Hypoxia Advisory Panel was charged with evaluating the state of the science regarding hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico, and was charged with evaluating progress that has been made in implementing the nutrient mitigation and control options.

This plenary session will summarize the SAB Panel’s major findings and recommendations, and will bring together experts from the Gulf region and other areas in the world experiencing similar hypoxia to discuss the environmental, social, and economic issues faced in the Gulf and to outline the steps necessary to achieve a reduced hypoxic zone.