Gulf fish, sea turtle restoration work to get $210 million | Environment

Federal officials have proposed spending $210 million for 10 projects aimed at restoring fisheries, sea turtles and invertebrate species — including shrimp, crabs, reef coral and shellfish — that were damaged during the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in open water areas of the Gulf of Mexico.

The money comes from an $8.8 billion settlement that BP entered into with the federal government and Gulf Coast states in 2016 to try to remediate some of the extensive damage. The settlement set aside $1.2 billion to restore the Gulf’s open water areas, which is what the new draft restoration plan aims to do.

It is the fourth plan by federal trustees to target open ocean resources damaged by the spill. The three previous plans included $421 million for a variety of projects to restore marine mammals, birds, coral reefs and more. Other settlement funds are reserved for projects within the five Gulf Coast states and for projects affecting the entire region.

The new plan includes six projects aimed at restoring fish and invertebrates that live in the Gulf’s water column, and four to help restore sea turtles.

It does not include the $350 million that Louisiana and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service officials hope to spend on rebuilding a part of the Chandeleur Islands and adjacent seagrass beds used for nesting and foraging by the critically endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles. State and federal officials say they will seek funding for that project next year.

The public can submit comments online about the proposal until Dec. 16. Then federal trustees from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Interior and Agriculture departments will review the feedback and finalize the plan.

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Massive damage to Gulf

The 2010 disaster, considered the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, devastated the Gulf’s waters and marine life.

For months after the spill, an oil slick covered more than 40,000 square miles of the Gulf’s surface, according to a 2016 damage assessment and restoration plan developed by federal and state trustees.

Deepwater Horizon oil contamination — This graphic outlines how oil from the BP Deepwater Horizon spill contaminated numerous locations in and around the Gulf of Mexico. (NOAA)

The polluted water disrupted the Gulf’s food chain, harming everything from bacteria to shrimp, sea trout and open-water predators like bluefin tuna, the report found.

The number of living organisms that were killed is hard to comprehend: trillions of larval fish and shellfish and, in deeper waters, as many as 7 billion tiny, planktonic invertebrates.

Gulf of Mexico food web — This graphic outlines the food web affecting fisheries, invertebrates and marine mammals in the Gulf of Mexico. (NOAA)

In many cases those losses represented fisheries growing to adulthood and fisheries that would have been food sources to larger predators, according to the report.

The spill also is estimated to have killed up to 7,600 large juvenile and adult endangered sea turtles. Another 35,000 hatchlings were believed injured.

Chevron fish trap — Scientists use this chevron fish trap to sample fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico as part of research used to develop restoration projects. (NOAA)

The plan to restore Gulf fish and invertebrates

Here are some of the projects in the new $210 million restoration plan.

Expansion of existing “Return ‘Em Right” program, $66.2 million over 15 years

This project aims to help Gulf reef fish survive after they’ve been caught and released. The fish can suffer from barotrauma, or injuries caused by pressure when they’re brought from deep water to the surface.

Anglers would be taught the best gear and practices to reduce deaths of fish that are captured and released and non-target species like sharks and marine mammals.

Fish and invertebrate projects — This map shows the area targeted by two of the proposed restoration projects: “Next Generation Fishing,” and “Communication, Adaptive Management, Planning, and Integration.” (NOAA)

“Next Generation Fishing,” $57.2 million over 15 years

This program seeks to cut down on bycatch, or marine line that is unintentionally caught during commercial fishing.

It would help protect reef fish and coastal migratory species, including menhaden, drums and sea trout.

“New gear, best practices, and techniques that reduce bycatch would be advanced within the commercial fishing community through voluntary actions, including participation in gear trials and demonstrations,” said Jamie Reinhardt, a NOAA restoration coordinator, during a recent webinar on the projects.

Communication networks and mapping tools to reduce fish mortality, $18 million over eight years

This is the second phase of a project using shared data and communication improvements to reduce bycatch – fish or other organisms that are caught but aren’t the target of the fishing effort – and also reducing “depredation,” the attack and eating of caught fish on a line or in a trap by sharks or marine mammals. The project also would help identify and protect areas where fish or other organisms gather to reproduce.

The first phase assessed the feasibility of hotspot communication networks for several Gulf fisheries led by commercial and recreational fishers.

The invasive lionfish was introduced into Gulf of Mexico waters in the 1980s from the South Pacific and Indian Oceans, and is being targeted by several of the proposed fisheries restoration projects. (NOAA)

Reduction of diverse threats to fish and water column invertebrates, $14.3 million over 10 years

This project seeks to restore fish and invertebrates injured by the spill by preventing and removing marine debris; targeting invasive species like lionfish for removal; targeting harmful algae blooms, and assessing the effects of energy infrastructure.

Vermilion snapper, often found near coral reefs, would be targeted by several of the proposed Natural Resource Damage Assessment projects. (NOAA)

Education and stewardship partnerships with charter anglers, $3 million over eight years

“This project seeks to reduce illegal charter fishing that contributes to fish mortality,” Reinhardt said.

“Media campaigns, informational signage, translated materials, multilingual liaisons, and partner organizations would all be used to communicate the negative impacts of illegal charter fishing on fish resources, increase awareness, and deter unpermitted charter fishing,” he said.

Communication, adaptive management, planning, and integration, $23 million over 15 years

This project is aimed at addressing gaps in current understanding of high-priority fishing and invertebrate resources injured by the spill, helping establish coordination between the other projects and expanding outreach to fishing communities. It would also enhance existing at-sea observer and electric monitoring efforts.

Bringing back sea turtles

Sea turtle nesting habitat protection expansion in Florida, $5 million over six years

The proposed project aims to protect nesting habitat for loggerhead, green and leatherback sea turtles along Florida’s Atlantic coast.

Sea turtle nesting protection — Turtle nesting areas will be protected on federal national wildlife refuges at these two east coast Florida locations. (NOAA)

Federal agencies would acquire privately owned areas of the beach at two national wildlife refuges where turtles nest, and remove structures, such as old buildings or seawalls, that could pose risks to turtles or hatchlings.

Sea turtle project area — The outlined area of the map would be targeted by the “Gulf-Wide Sea Turtle Bycatch Reduction” project. (NOAA)

Gulf-wide sea turtle bycatch reduction, $8.5 million over six years

This project expands efforts already underway to reduce the risk of interactions between commercial fishers and sea turtles through outreach, education and distribution of turtle-excluder devices, or TEDs.

The devices are metal grates installed in fishing nets that allow shrimp to pass through but direct turtles to an opening that allows them to escape.

The project also would help fishers adopt the use of new TED prototypes that have been shown to protect more turtles, while increasing the amount of shrimp caught.

Sea turtle project areas — The areas in green will be included in two of the sea turtle restoration projects: “Gulf-Wide Sea Turtle Vessel Strike Reduction,” and Gulf-Wide Sea Turtle Stranding Network and Emergency Response.”

Gulf-wide sea turtle vessel strike reduction, $3.5 million over eight years

This project tries to keep boats from striking and injuring sea turtles.

Boat-strike hotspots would be identified, then filed studies conducted to observe sea turtle and boater behavior, with a goal of identifying risk factors and strategies to minimize turtle-boat interactions. That would be followed by public outreach and education.

Gulf-Wide Sea Turtle Stranding Network and Emergency Response Enhancements, $11 million over eight years

This project would expand on the existing Gulf-wide sea turtle stranding network, with NOAA continuing to coordinate efforts for Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

It also would enhance management of stranding data and conduct mortality investigations.

Members of the public who want to comment on the proposed restoration plan by mail can write to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Gulf Restoration Office, 1875 Century Blvd., Atlanta, GA 30345. The comments must be postmarked on or before Dec. 16.

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