Open Ocean

The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group is pleased to share materials from its March 26, 2024 interactive webinar. The webinar provided information about four projects contributing to restoration of Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities injured by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. A total of 146 people attended the webinar.

The Open Ocean Trustees have approved a Monitoring and Adaptive Management (MAM) Activity Implementation Plan for the Coastal Restoration Effects on Inshore, Nearshore, and Offshore Ecological Condition. This MAM activity will use existing monitoring and assessment protocols to develop an approach for evaluating how Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) restoration projects affect the fish and invertebrate species that rely on them (e.g., through improved water quality).

Whales and dolphins (cetaceans) living in the Northern Gulf of Mexico are often exposed to multiple stressors. Quantifying the cumulative impact of these stressors is essential for effectively implementing and managing restoration efforts. The Open Ocean Trustees have approved Phase 2 (PDF, 16 pages) of the Monitoring and Adaptive Management (MAM) Activity, Evaluating the Cumulative Impacts of Multiple Stressors on Cetaceans.

From May through October 2023, crews from NOAA, the U.S. Geological Survey, and several additional partners embarked on eight scientific expeditions across the Gulf of Mexico, surveying both injured and reference habitat areas, and exploring even deeper sites.

The Open Ocean Trustees are pleased to announce a public webinar on March 26, 2024, which will discuss restoration efforts underway for the Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities projects.