Reply #15: they're beautiful.

[shireen]

A long time ago, during a pelagic birding trip off the Outer Banks, we could see the boundary between the ocean and the Gulf Stream -- the water turned from deep blue to a beautiful blue-green, indicating those waters were full of the creatures in those pictures. We saw flying fish skim across the surface waters, and gradually, more and more wonderful sights ... birds, fish, marine mammals. Someone pulled a batch of Sargassum seaweed for us to inspect: it was a micro-habitat sheltering tiny fish, shrimp, snails. Just amazing!

These phyto- and zooplankton are precious. We lose it, and the entire food chain collapses.

Edited to add: yes, the Gulf will eventually recover. But it will take time.