This fish kill could be a familiar scene this summer.
Environmental officials say the so-called “dead zone” of low oxygen in Long Island Sound continues to get worse.
The formal name for the condition is hypoxia and has been present in the Sound for decades, appearing during warm summer months.
Hypoxia reduces the area where fish can live and can lead to mass fish kills.
In 2008, the hypoxia area reached 180 square miles, up from 162 square miles in 2007.
An official of the Interstate Environmental Commission says the increase may have been caused in part by high temperatures and calm weather conditions.
Hypoxic conditions in the Sound are not new. State officials have documented low levels of dissolved oxygen in the western half of Long Island Sound for more than 20 years.
