Restoration work in the Open Ocean Restoration Area focuses on restoring the living marine resources and their services that were injured by the spill. The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group, comprised of the federal trustees, works together to restore wide-ranging and migratory species, including birds, Gulf sturgeon, fish and water column invertebrates, sea turtles, marine mammals, and deep-sea coral communities.
We work to restore these species throughout their life stages and geographic ranges, including inland, coastal, and offshore areas. Therefore, we may use some funds for restoration outside of the Gulf of Mexico. We coordinate with state trustees, especially when proposed projects overlap their jurisdictions.
Together, we develop project-specific restoration plans that are consistent with the programmatic restoration plan (see chart below). As part of the restoration planning process, we accept restoration project ideas from the public. The public also has the opportunity to review and comment on proposed project-specific restoration plans for the Open Ocean Restoration Area. Once plans are approved, we begin implementation and monitoring of the selected projects.
Restoration Plans
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Draft Planon- October 2024 (PDF, 295 Pages)
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Draft Planon- March 2023 (PDF, 304 pages)
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Final Planon- September 2023 (PDF, 335 pages)
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Draft Planon- May 2019 (PDF, 438 pages)
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Final Planon- November 2019 (PDF, 493 pages)
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Draft Planon- October 2018 (PDF, 141 pages)
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Final Planon- March 2019 (PDF, 163 pages)
Recent News
Looking for a particular news item or document related to the Open Ocean Restoration Page? View the story archive.
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group, in
El Grupo de Implementación del Fideicomiso de Open
Nhóm Thực hiện ủy thác Open Ocean (Open Ocean
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group has
The Louisiana and Open Ocean Trustee
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group has
Whales and dolphins (cetaceans) living in the Gulf
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group is
The Open Ocean Trustees have approved a Monitoring
Whales and dolphins (cetaceans) living in the
From May through October 2023, crews from NOAA
The Open Ocean Trustees are pleased to announce a
The Open Ocean Trustees have approved a new
Sea turtles were among the many marine species in
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group held
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group will
When common loons returned this year to their
The Deepwater Horizon Open Ocean Trustee
The Gulf of Mexico has a vast and unique deep-sea
Setting sail from Mississippi in June into the
A new publication from the Open Ocean Trustees’
The Open Ocean Trustees have approved a new
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group marked
A new resource offering guidance on in-water sea
Xem câu chuyện này bằng tiếng Anh. ( Read this
Đọc tường thuật bằng tiếng Việt. (Read this
A new video from the Oceanic Fish Restoration
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group held
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group
Through the cooperation and coordination of five
The Open Ocean Trustees invite you to learn more
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group has
To support restoration planning and evaluation of
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill damaged deep-sea
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group has
When the Deepwater Horizon oil spill occurred in
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group held
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group will
Gulf sturgeon were once common in river systems
To restore fish populations in the Gulf of Mexico
A project to develop a new type of turtle excluder
The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill impacted
Construction of the Open Ocean Trustee
Return 'Em Right, a coalition of organizations
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group held
The Open Ocean Trustees released their first
The Open Ocean Trustees are hosting a webinar on
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group has
The Open Ocean Trustees and partners are
After five successful years, the Open Ocean
The “ Developing Methods to Observe Sea Turtle
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group held
The “ Reducing Impacts to Cetaceans during
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill Natural Resource
The Open Ocean Trustees are bringing together a
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group will
Return ‘Em Right is an angler-driven initiative
In July, the Open Ocean Trustee Implementation
Stakeholder and community feedback have
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group held
In what turned out to be an extremely challenging
The Trustee Council will hold its sixth annual
Are you interested in learning more about Open
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group is
Update: Join us for a fish restoration strategy
After four successful years, the National Fish and
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group held
On behalf of the Open Ocean Trustee Implementation
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group will
On July 22, 2020 the Open Ocean Restoration Area
Help is on the way for common loons thanks to a
The Trustee Council will hold its fifth annual
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group
In 2019, the Deepwater Horizon Trustees continued
Many of our projects are designed to benefit
We are restoring resources in multiple locations
To make the most of our efforts, we work hard to
Today marks ten years since the Deepwater Horizon
After three successful project years, the National
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group held
The Deepwater Horizon Open Ocean Trustee
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group will
Pelagic longline fishermen in the Gulf are invited
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group
In response to both extenuating weather conditions
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group will
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group
In 2018, the Deepwater Horizon Trustees continued
The Open Ocean Trustees will hold an outreach
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group has
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group
These public engagement opportunities will happen
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group has
On February 4, 2019 the Open Ocean Restoration
The Deepwater Horizon Oceanic Fish Restoration
On February 4, 2019 the Open Ocean Restoration
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group held
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group will
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group has
The Trustees are committed to providing annual
In January, the Jeff Friend Trail at Bon Secour
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group has
Many members of the Deepwater Horizon Trustee
The Deepwater Horizon Oceanic Fish Restoration
The Oceanic Fish Restoration Project is helping to
The Open Ocean Restoration Area webinar was held
Sailing towards Pensacola’s Plaza de Luna under a
It’s been one year since we settled with BP and
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group is
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group is
Seven Louisiana fishers have volunteered to stop
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group (TIG)
The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group is
Projects
Planning
The chart shows the restoration funding allocated to the Open Ocean Restoration Area for each restoration goal and the percentage of committed funds as of May 2024. For more information on the allocation of funds, please visit the Department of Justice Deepwater Horizon page.
Monitoring and Adaptive Management
The Open Ocean Trustees consider monitoring and adaptive management throughout their restoration efforts. To find project-related monitoring and adaptive management information, click on the projects listed in the table above, or view a project’s monitoring activities through our interactive project map.
In addition to project-specific monitoring, we developed a Monitoring and Adaptive Management Strategy (PDF, 23 pages) that provides a framework to inform restoration planning and evaluate the outcomes of Open Ocean restoration.
The Open Ocean Restoration area also has Monitoring and Adaptive Management Activity Implementation Plans.
- Vessel Surveys for Abundance and Distribution of Marine Mammals and Seabirds
- Informing Gulf Sturgeon Population Status and Trends as a Baseline to Evaluate Restoration
- Juvenile Gulf Sturgeon - Gulf-wide Population Dynamics and Habitat Use
- Evaluating the Cumulative Impacts of Multiple Stressors on Cetaceans
- Analysis of Open Ocean Habitat Use, Threats, and Animal Movement
- Conceptual Model to Inform Open Ocean Ecosystem Indicators
- Gulf-Wide Status of Nesting Sea Turtles and Beaches Data Inventory
- Evaluation Framework for Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Restoration
Trustee Implementation Group
The trustees for the Open Ocean Restoration Area are:
- U.S. Department of the Interior
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Contact: openocean.TIG@noaa.gov
Suggest a restoration project for consideration
Draft Plans Currently Open for Public Comment