45 



Tcstimooy before the 



Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries 



Subcommittee on Oceanography, Gulf of Mexico and Outer Continental Shelf 



Dr. Thomas J. Bright, Executive Direaor 



Texas A&M University Sea Grant College Program 



March 24, 1993 



Thank you Mr Chairman and Members of the Committee, my name is Thomas Bright I 

 am a professor of oceanography and directw of the Texas A&M University Sea Grant CoUege 

 Program. My research has focused on the ecology of coral reefs and hard bank ecosystems in the 

 Guf of Mexico. Horida, the Caribbean and mideast Some of my underwater re^^^ '^^°^ 

 supported logistically by the National Undersea Research Program (NURP) of NOAA. NURP s 

 mission is to provide competitively awarded field support for high quality undersea research 

 projects which are prinnarily funded through other federal programs. ,.„„,., . . 



Today I wish to address marine environmental research needs for the Gulf of Mexico and 

 how various existing federal programs, including NURP. contribute to aa»mpUshing thein. The 

 Gulf of Mexico supports the most valuable commercial and recreaticmal fishenes m the nation. It 

 is the site of the country's largest concentration of offshore oil and gas facilities and 

 petrochemical industries. It receives massive riverine inputs which drain nearly 2 miUion square 

 miles from Canada to Guatemala. It contains a major portion of the Atlantic coral reef 

 ecosystem, and is subject to growing environmental pressures from industrial and domestic 

 development, pollution, and increased demands on limited living resources. 



To address the management goal of assuring the health of the Gulfs marine ecosystem, 

 the region's marine science, management and environmental communities have identified critical 

 needs for research through several years of committee work widi die EPA Gulf of Mexico 

 Program, Sea Grant, and the Gulf of Mexico Regional Marine Research Program. The needs 

 include study of ecological processes related to habitat use and degradation, nutrient enrichnient, 

 freshwater input, population and trophic dynamics of living marine resources, toxic materials, 

 coastal erosion, hydrodynamics, catastrophic events, global change, nuisance speaes, human 

 health, and a host of other topics. , . . . • rj i 



Although there is no NURP center in the Gulf of Mexico, several major federal programs 

 are currentiy addressing various components of the region's research needs and most of them 

 have received, or could benefit ft-om, collaborative NURP support These include: 



— The U.S. Minerals Management Se rvice Environmental Studies Program, which is 

 supporting university based physical oceanography, descriptive ecology and 

 environmental monitoring in the northern Gulf. NURP has supported MMS research 

 by providing time on the Johnson Sea-Link and Alvin research submersibles to Texas 

 A&M and Louisiana State University in their study of unique biota and carbonate 

 structures at deep-sea hydrocarbon seeps and the chemistry, geology and biology of 

 deep-sea brine basins. . 



— Thf. NOAA Coastal Ocea n Profram Nntriftnt Enhanced Coastal Ocean ProiCCt 

 (NECOP) is assessing the impact of anthropogenic nutrient inflow from the 

 Mississippi/Atchafalaya rivers on offshore productivity and water quality. NURP has 

 assisted NECOP researchers from Texas A&M and the Louisiana University Marine 

 Consortium with remotely operated vehicles, electronic surveillance and diving 

 programs necessary to document impacts of massive hypoxia on fishery resources off 

 Louisiana and Texas, 



—The NOAA National Marine Sancmaries Program administers environmental research 

 and monitoring at the newly designated Flower Garden Banks National Marine 

 Sanctuary in the northwestern Gulf. Years ago, NURP provided research submersible 

 time to explore and describe deep reef communities and brine seeps at the Flower 

 Garden Banks. 



— The EPA Gulf of Mexico Program has identified major environmental management 

 and research needs for the Gulf and is commencing to solicit proposals to fill these 

 needs. 



