April 13 Luncheon: Dr. Steve Murawski--Is The Gulf of Mexico Dying?

Hear "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" News about the Gulf of Mexico and Our Oceans. Former NOAA Fisheries Chief Scientist and now USF Research Professor delivers current truth about oil spill impacts, loss of juvenile fish, red tide, overfishing and more!


   
 
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Dr. Steven Murawski is a world-renowned fisheries biologist and marine ecologist involved in understanding the impacts of human activities on the sustainability of ocean ecosystems. As Chief Scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries Service, he supervised 1400 employees, 600 contractors, 11 ocean-going research vessels and 25 laboratories from Maine to the western Pacific islands.

BAD NEWS OR UGLY NEWS? : On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil platform explosion caused the largest marine oil spill in history.  For the next 86 days, people watched in horror as five million barrels of oil flowed into the ecologically fragile Gulf of Mexico.  The unsuccessful attempts to stop the flow of oil drove in-depth discussions about measuring and managing the impacts of offshore drilling.  Is the Gulf recovering or dying from that disaster?

GOOD NEWS: In 2011, he declared that, for the first time in a century, U.S. fishermen won't overfish any species from our seas.  The New England fleet has deteriorated since the mid-1990s from 1,200 boats to only about 580 today, but Murawski believes fishermen may have already endured their worst times. The projected end of overfishing comes during a turbulent fishing year that's seen New England fishermen switch to a radically new management system. He said it signals the coming of increasingly healthy fish stocks and better days for fishermen who've suffered financially.

Murawski is currently the "Peter Betzer Endowed Chair" Research Professor at USF, College of Marine Science in St. Petersburg since he retired last year from NOAA.  He received his Ph.D. from UMass Amherst.  President Obama awarded him the Presidential Award For Meritorious Service in 2009.  The US Dept. of Commerce presented him with their Gold Medal in 2007 for his leadership on the Fishery Conservation Act .  His current areas of interest include understanding the Gulf of Mexico Large Marine Ecosystem impact from multiple, simultaneous injuries while using advanced technology to survey the ecosystems. Such assessments form the scientific basis for effective regulation.  But they may help the Gulf recover from the effects of oil spills, loss of juvenile nursery areas, nutrient enrichment, overfishing and other factors.