July 10, 2015 — Five years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, fishermen, visitors and residents of the Gulf coast are still filled with unanswered question about what exactly happened during the spill and the lingering effects. A new oil spill science outreach program now allows Gulf Sea Grant specialists to examine what types of information these target audiences need and develop tailor-made solutions providing answers to these unanswered questions.
With funding from the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, and administration by the Gulf of Mexico Alliance, Sea Grant Oil Spill Science Outreach Specialists from Florida to Texas are providing information through free seminars and publications.
“Last fall, the Outreach Team interviewed with more than 500 coastal residents and discovered that residents still had many questions about how the oil spill affected public health, the quality of the water, and the health of the plants and animals living in the Gulf,” said Christine Hale, Texas Sea Grant Oil Spill Science Outreach Specialist at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. “People are still concerned with the impacts of dispersants and oiling of habitats such as marshes and beaches.”