Information from the Open Ocean Monitoring and Adaptive Management Workshop

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On February 4, 2019 the Open Ocean Restoration Area Trustees held a workshop to seek input on the identification and prioritization of information needed to facilitate restoration of resources injured by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The workshop was held during the 2019 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill & Ecosystem Science Conference. More than 50 stakeholders participated.

The workshop included an overview of the Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group’s restoration goals, current restoration priorities and development of our strategy for monitoring and adaptive management. Participants worked in small groups to identify data needed to best inform planning, implementation, and evaluation of Open Ocean restoration activities. The groups focused on Open Ocean Restoration types, including fish and water column invertebrates, mesophotic and deep benthic communities, sea turtles, marine mammals, birds, and sturgeon . Small groups also identified data needed for ecosystem restoration and evaluation. Participants’ discussion and input were collected to help with  planning for the Open Ocean Restoration Area Trustees' monitoring and adaptive management strategy. Presentation slides and factsheets from the workshop are below: