Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary Management Plan Revision G.P. Schmahl Sanctuary Superintendent Beyond the Horizon May 12, 2011
Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary Stetson Bank West Flower Garden Bank East Flower Garden Bank
Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary Designated in 1992 Includes: East and West Flower Garden and Stetson Banks Stetson Bank added in 1996 Located 93 to 104 nautical miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico Area: 42.5 square nautical miles (56 square statute miles) Water Depth: 55 to 500
Long-term region-wide declines in Caribbean Corals Gardner, T.A. et al., 2003. Science 301:958 Average hard coral cover reduced by 80% (from 50% to 10%) in 30 years
Flower Garden Banks Long-term Coral Reef Monitoring Photo: G.P. Schmahl
Historical Dataset
Oil and Gas Infrastructure
Oil Spill Response and Monitoring Data courtesy of: ROFFER'S OCEAN FISHING FORECASTING SERVICE, INC. April 20 th, 2010: Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill Shallow Water Coral Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) Semi-Permeable Membrane Devices (SPMDs) Sediment Samples Baseline Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) Water and Sediment
Regulated Activities Anchoring - all anchoring prohibited Mooring buoys provided Vessels over 100 cannot moor on buoys Discharges - prohibited, with some exceptions Taking coral or invertebrates - prohibited Fishing - only hook and line fishing allowed Spearfishing is prohibited Possession of unauthorized gear prohibited Vessels with unauthorized gear (shrimpboats, longliners) cannot stop or moor within the sanctuary
Management Plan Review: Blueprints For Action Establish management priorities and performance measures for all site programs Five to ten-year time frame Community-based public process Installing mooring buoy anchors at the Flower Garden Banks NMS
State of the Sanctuary Report Sanctuary status, Existing conditions, Goals & Objectives, Management programs, Emerging issues, Process description Available from: http://flowergarden.noaa.gov
Sanctuary Advisory Council Recreational Diving Dive Operators Oil and Gas Industry Recreational Fishing Commercial Fishing Education Research Conservation AGENCY (NON-VOTING) NOAA Fisheries Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement U.S. Coast Guard NOAA Law Enforcement
PRIORITY ISSUES (Sanctuary Advisory Council - 2/07) BOUNDARY EXPANSION FISHING IMPACTS VISITOR USE WATER QUALITY EDUCATION / OUTREACH ENFORCEMENT
Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary Draft Management Plan Released October 22, 2010 Federal Register Vol. 75, No. 204 Three Components: Draft Management Plan Proposed Rule (Regulations) Environmental Assessment Comment period open until: JANUARY 20, 2011
Identification of Issues Issue Prioritization Issue Analysis & Action Plan Development Prepare Draft Management Plan Public Comment on Draft Plan Prepare Final Management Plan
Six Action Plans: Sanctuary Expansion Education and Outreach Research and Monitoring Resource Protection Visitor Use Operations and Administration
Claypile Sonnier Stetson 29 Fathom McGrail Alderdice Jakkula Ewing Diaphus Reefs and Banks of the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico
Boundary Expansion East Flower Garden West Flower Garden Rankin Bright
Sonnier Bank - Multibeam Bathymetry 2002
Sonnier Bank Coral Community Habitat
McGrail Bank - Multibeam Bathymetry 2002
McGrail Bank - Coral Reef
Bright Bank - Treasure salvage activities Excavations in 1980 s Recent renewed interest
More Info: http://flowergarden.noaa.gov Or contact: fgbmanagementplan@noaa.gov
Public Comment Period through January 20, 2011 91 comment submissions received 1 submission was a petition with 193 signatures Letters 13 Email 23 Electronic 35* Public 7 Verbal 12 Fax 1
General Comment Categories: Boundary Expansion - 46 Fishing - 24 Spearfishing (many related to boundary expansion) - 27 Rays and Whale Shark regulation - 18 Vessel discharge regulation - 8 Discharge (Oil and Gas) - 2 Dive flag regulation - 9 Other issues and edits - 51
Experimental Fishing Closure Closed to Fishing Open to Fishing East Flower Garden West Flower Garden
G.P. Schmahl NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary 4700 Avenue U, Building 216 Galveston, TX 77551 Phone: 409-621-5151ext. 102 Email: george.schmahl@noaa.gov http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov
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