By Sabrina Egger
The Gulf of Mexico, also known as the “Mediterranean of the Americas”, lies in the southeastern corner of North America and is bordered by five U.S. states to the north and five Mexican states in the west. Covering approximately 600,000 square miles and extending from Cape Sable, Florida, to the Yucatan Peninsula, it is the ninth largest body of water in the world. (9) It is no great surprise that such a vast body of water that the Gulf of Mexico produces some of the most successful fisheries in the world, with four out of the top seven ports in the U.S. and a history of leading production in oysters and shellfish back in 2010. (9) Such productivity attracts high amounts of tourism for recreational purposes such as fishing and beach activities.
Not only does the Gulf of Mexico have great importance economically; it is also rich in biodiversity. The Gulf is home to over 15,000 marine species, a majority being invertebrates
Dead zone in
the gulf of mexico
“A hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico... has grown to cover about 6,000 to 7,000 square miles.”
3 Oceans Monthly/June, 2014