Five years after the BP Deepwater Horizon oil disaster tragically claimed 11 lives in the Gulf of Mexico, the government trustees charged with restoring the Gulf of Mexico announced 10 new projects, worth $134 million, including the first projects to address impacts in the deep-water environment, where the blowout occurred.

“Early restoration was intended to address the immediate impacts of the BP oil disaster, before the natural resource damage assessment is complete,” said Bethany Kraft, director of the Gulf Restoration Program at Ocean Conservancy. “Five years on, the emerging impacts beyond the shore of the Gulf are myriad and troubling, from dolphins dying at record numbers, corals covered in oil and millions of gallons of oil sitting on the seafloor. We have been waiting to see when the trustees would turn their attention to the deep water. This announcement is encouraging – It is past time to begin restoring our impacted deep-water resources and habitats. Only by addressing restoration in an integrated and comprehensive way – from the coast to the deep water, can our impacted habitats, wildlife and coastal communities fully recover.”

Three of the 10 projects directly address known impacts to deep-water resources. The $20 million proposed Pelagic Longline Bycatch Reduction Project will protect open-ocean fish that were affected by the disaster. Lab studies revealed that BP oil caused deformed or damaged hearts in bluefin and yellowfin tuna.

The seagrass recovery project in Florida will address degraded seagrass areas, which provide important habitat for wildlife, including commercially and recreationally important fisheries.

The Kemp’s ridley sea turtle project is a 10-year, $45 million endeavor to restore the endangered Kemp’s ridley turtle through a number of related projects, including increased observer coverage to monitor sea turtle bycatch, increased funding for the sea turtle stranding network and the addition of two nesting corrals at Padre Island.

According to Kraft, “This fourth phase of early restoration includes a number of strong coastal and marine projects. We are particularly pleased to see projects that will protect fish and sea turtles. We know these wildlife were impacted by the BP oil disaster and the sooner we can address those impacts, the sooner these special areas and species can recover. The approach the trustees are taking with these two complementary projects is exactly what we’ve been hoping to see in the five years since the disaster began. If we want to restore the Gulf comprehensively, we must focus on both the coast and the deep water – our communities, culture and livelihoods depend on it.”

For more information about Ocean Conservancy and its Gulf Restoration Program, please visit www.oceanconservancy.org.  Connect with Ocean Conservancy on Twitter @GulfAction or @OurOcean.

Ocean Conservancy is working with you to protect the ocean from today’s greatest global challenges. Together, we create science-based solutions for a healthy ocean and the wildlife and communities that depend on it. For more information, visit www.oceanconservancy.org, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.