Bay Scientists Prove the Obvious

'Dead Zone' Impacts Chesapeake Bay Fishes

A 10-year study of Chesapeake Bay fishes by researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science provides the first quantitative evidence on a bay-wide scale that low-oxygen "dead zones" are impacting the distribution and abundance of "demersal" fishes -- those that live and feed near the Bay bottom.

The affected species -- which include Atlantic croaker, white perch, spot, striped bass, and summer flounder -- are a key part of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and support important commercial and recreational fisheries.

I thought it was pretty obvious that anoxia affect Chesapeake Bay fish when they started washing up on the beach dead.  Can I be forgiven for jumping the gun?

The study is reasonable.  The headline is laughable.