NOAA-supported scientists announced that this year’s Gulf of America hypoxic zone is approximately 1,332 square miles, making it the 2nd smallest zone on record in 40 years of measurement. The annual hypoxic zone survey was led by scientists at Louisiana State University and the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON). The measured hypoxic zone is smaller than anticipated this year due to Tropical Storm Bertha passing through the northern Gulf of America on the eve of the cruise. The five-year average size of the Gulf of America hypoxic zone is now 3,745 square miles, almost two times the 2035 goal. Image showing (Top) Map of measured Gulf hypoxia zone, July 24 - 30, 2026.