Seattle area dead zone

It's back, dead fish floating on the ocean's surface near Seattle. It's the Hood Canal dead zone, in a place that was once an ocean wonderland.

My father used to scuba dive in Hood Canal when he was young, and he raved about the fantastic ocean scenes. Giant octopus, plentiful fish, etc.

But now, Hood Canal has a dead zone every year, and this year could be worse than ever. It's partly natural, but humans have made it worse. This deep fjord tends to collect water like a bathtub, and algae blooms suck up oxygen when the algae die and decay. Nitrogen fertilizer from people's lawns and septic tanks make it worse.

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