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Objectives of the Gulf of Mexico Program
Partnership Objectives
By 2009 -
- Restore 20% of impaired segments in priority coastal areas
- Assist the Gulf States in protecting public health (Vibrio, Mercury, HABs)
- Protect or restore 20,000 acres important coastal & marine habitat
- Reduce nutrient inputs to Coastal Ecosystems
- Foster regional stewardship and sense of community
Assist the Gulf States in implementing actions to restore 20% of the impaired waters in the priority coastal areas to levels that meet state water quality standards by 2009.
Assist the Gulf States in protecting public health by providing information concerning contaminated seafood and early warnings of harmful algal blooms.
- Assist the Gulf States in reducing shellfish-borne Vibrio vulnificus illnesses by 60% on average for 2007 and 2008.
- Assist the Gulf States in developing and implementing a scientifically sound, Gulfwide monitoring program for total mercury/methylmercury levels in fish tissue and in developing consistent fish consumption advisories and public outreach information regarding the effects of methylmercury.
- Support implementation of the integrated binational (U.S. and Mexican Border States) early-warning system to support State and coastal community efforts to manage harmful algal blooms.
Increase seagrasses and protect or restore coastal and marine habitats that are essential to the recreational and commercial fisheries of the Gulf, including the prevention and control of invasive species in U.S. areas of the Gulf, by 20,000 acres by 2009.
- Assist in the implementation of Louisiana’s Coastal 2050 Plan and Coastal Initiative to divert Mississippi River water and restore coastal wetlands in a manner that achieves a 15% reduction in the annual nitrate load from the River to the Gulf.
- Provide technical support and Program interface to the Gulf of Mexico Regional Panel on Invasive Species to reduce the introduction of invasive species and minimize their impacts.
Support national efforts to reduce the 5-year running average areal extent of Gulf hypoxia to less than 1,930 square miles (5,000 square kilometers) by 2015.
- Facilitate research, monitoring, and modeling efforts that reduce uncertainties in the ecological and economic impact of hypoxia.
- Assist the States of Louisiana and Mississippi in implementing voluntary actions to reduce the annual nitrogen discharge to the Mississippi/ Atchafalaya River Basin.
Foster regional stewardship and a strong sense of community and value among Gulf State residents and tourists to protect, restore, and responsibly use the resources of the Gulf of Mexico.
