The Gulf Sea Grant programs (Florida, Mississippi-Alabama, Louisiana and Texas) are hosting an oil spill science seminar titled, “Five years later, what have we learned?” The seminar will take place Wednesday, March 18 from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Grand Hotel Point Clear Resort and Spa, located at One Grand Boulevard in Point Clear, Ala. The seminar is free and open to the public.
In this seminar, scientists will present the latest fisheries-related research about the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and dispersant application on Gulf of Mexico habitats, communities, and individual species.
Speakers will include:
- Steve Murawski, a fisheries biologist and marine ecologist from the University of South Florida and former director of scientific programs and chief science adviser for NOAA Fisheries Service, will talk about health and contamination in Gulf fish. He will also talk about the impacts the oil spill had on the food web and fish populations.
- Ken Heck, chair of University Programs at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab and a professor of marine science at the University of South Alabama, will discuss the impacts of the oil spill on animals inhabiting Alabama coastal wetlands, as well as its effects on individual fish and their northern Gulf populations.
- Mandy Joye, a biogeochemist and microbial ecologist with the Department of Marine Sciences at University of Georgia, will talk about dispersants, and their impacts on the food web and open ocean and coastal ecosystems.
- Tracey Sutton, an oceanic ecologist and associate professor at the Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center, will talk about NOAA’s sampling program shortly after the oil spill which studied offshore pelagic fishes (including juvenile reef fishes), shrimps, and squids.
There will also be a short facilitated discussion to determine what questions are still unknown and to identify future research priorities. The results of the discussion will be shared with the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, which is investing $500 million in oil spill-related research over a 10-year period.
To register:
If you would like to attend this seminar, it is free and open to the public. We encourage you to reserve a seat by registering at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/fisheriesoilspillseminar.
The seminar will be held in conjunction with the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission meeting, which has many other events and a registration fee. If you would like to attend the other events at the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission meeting, please be sure to register at: http://www.gsmfc.org/.
Sea Grant is organizing and leading the seminar as part of the new Oil Spill Outreach Science Program: https://gulfseagrant.wordpress.com/oilspilloutreach/. If you have any questions about this seminar, please contact Larissa Graham with Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant at Larissa.Graham@auburn.edu or 251-348-5436.
Download the event flyer: Oil Spill Science Seminar
