84 



Considering the independent and fragmented mature of marine research programs in the 

 Gulf, I feel that coordination of their efforts must be voluntary, and can be achieved in part by 

 providing information such as that which would be assembled in the above documents. No 

 single agency could coordinate by dictum, however, existing activities such as the EPA Gulf of 

 Mexico Program, Regional Marine Research Program, Sea Grant, and the Southern Association 

 of Marine Laboratories could, and should, engage in efforts to accomplish "Coordination by 

 Communication". 



To answer your question relating to oil and gas platforms, a great need exists to assess the 

 environmental, fisheries, recreational and socioeconomic impact of the presence, and ultimate 

 removal, of the thousands of offshore oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. States, 

 industry and the federal government arc cooperating in programs to convert some of these 

 platforms to artificial reefs. Generally favored by recreational fishermen and divers, the artificial 

 reef program is opposed by the shrimp fishing industry, which uses bottom trawls. The dynamic 

 process of rig removal itself is though to have impacts on endangered species and local fishery 

 populations. 



Research relating to the assessment of environmental and fishery consequences, and 

 effectiveness, of manipulation of offshore platforms as habitat requires attention. The undersea 

 research community in the Gulf of Mexico includes numerous scientists who would be able and 

 willing to address such specific questions as: do platforms and artificial structures provide new 

 habitat which actually increases benthic and fishery populations, or do the structures simply 

 attract biota from natural reefs; do small artificial reefs made of only one platform significantly 

 enhance local fishery populations or does it require that an artificial reef be constructed of many 

 discarded platforms to provide significant habitat enhancement. 



NURP could play a key role in such an effort in the Gulf of Mexico, which has the largest 

 concentration of offshore platforms in the world. One structure is even within the boundary of 

 the newly-designated Flower Garden National Marine Sanctuary, 100 miles offshore from Texas 

 and Louisiana. NURP logistics for undersea research relating to platform and artificial reef 

 issues should be employed in support of projects funded by the Texas Parks and Wildlife 

 Department, the NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Program, the U.S. Minerals Management 

 Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, and the regional Sea Grant Programs. This type of 

 cooperation among state and federal agencies and the academic research community attracts 

 additional support from private foundations and industry. Such has been the case with the 

 collaborative Flower Garden monitoring study, which is joindy sponsored by the National 

 Marine Sanctuary Program, Minerals Management Service, Sea Grant, Mobil, Texaco and non- 

 profit foundations. NURP services for these studies will become essential, and can gready 

 enhance the quality and extent of the field data collection process. 



jncercly. 



flomas J. Bright 

 Director 

 TJB/cU 



