Group to study oil spill effects

The Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine announced Dec. 15 it has awarded $2.1 million in grants. A team led by University of South Florida College of Marine Science professor Dr. Steven Murawski was provided a $1 million grant to explore how oil spills- like Deepwater Horizon (DWH) in 2010 - impact the economic, ecological and social system aspects of fishing communities. The team includes University of Miami bio-physical modeler Dr. Claire Paris and environmental science and policy expert Dr. James Sanchirico from the University of California at Davis. DWH released some two million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico resulting in significant impacts on coastal communities of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi. Murawski’s team will be using high-resolution, fishery-dependent data sets to identify how communities were affected by the DWH spill. Working with key fisheries stakeholders and local decision-makers, the team plans to identify adaptive strategies for communities to mitigate the effects of future spills. The project has the potential to transform disaster planning and fisheries management responses to such disasters in the Gulf of Mexico. (Source: Marine Link 12/15/16)