Measuring in at 6,474 miles, the annual Gulf of Mexico "dead zone" covers an area roughly the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined.

This region in the water is defined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as , thus affecting commercial and recreational fishing.

These areas are also referred to as hypoxia areas and occur when there is nutrient runoff, largely due to the fertilizer used in fields near the water. This accelerates algae growth, which compromises the oxygen levels in the water when they decompose.

Map shows the distribution of bottom-water dissolved oxygen from July 28 to August 3, west of the Mississippi River delta. Areas in red to deep red have very little dissolved oxygen.

(Nancy Rabalais, LUMCON; R Eugene Turner, LSU. NOAA)

In 2002, the NOAA reported that the Gulf of Mexico's dead zone spanned 8,497 square miles. Though the size of this year's dead zone is significantly smaller, it is still three times larger than the reduction goal set by the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force.

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As reported in New Orleans' Times-Picayune, . A variety of methods have since been implemented in an effort to reduce nutrients found in the water. These include new farming tactics that use less fertilizer and planting grassy buffer strips to capture nutrients before they have a chance to get into the river.

In a 2014 press release from the Louisiana University Marine Consortium (LUMCON), they report that . According to Dr. Nancy Rabalais, executive director and professor atLUMCON, this can be problematic for marine life, as . This can become costly for the fishing industry.

The Times-Picayune also reports that the task force has set a new goal to see a 20 percent reduction by 2025. Also, a federal judge in New Orleans announced he will consider new arguments on whether the federal Environmental Protection Agency should increase regulation of fertilizers and other nutrient pollutants found in the river.

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