IOLR Coral Specialist Spotlighted in Gulf Restoration Report
Prof. Buki Rinkevich, a leading coral researcher at IOLR, was interviewed for an Associated Press article titled “Uncharted waters: Restoring deep Gulf fouled by BP spill,” which looks at attempts to repair the Gulf of Mexico environment after the 2010 BP oil spill.
The article notes that restoring ecosystems in the deep sea beyond the continental shelf has never been tried, so the right approach remains unclear. AP writer Cain Burdeau reports that deep-water coral reefs as far as 5,000 feet below the Gulf surface were harmed by the spill, with oil residues slowing their growth. These deep ecosystems are important because they link to shallower waters and provide nutrients to the ocean food web.
Suggested remedies include placing oyster shell, limestone and manufactured “reef balls” on the seabed for coral and fish to settle on, plus transplanting healthy coral onto damaged deep reefs. Neither transplanting deep-sea coral nor growing it in laboratories has ever been attempted.
As one of the world’s leading coral restoration experts, Prof. Rinkevich was consulted on the proposal. He noted that deep-water coral restoration is limited by incomplete knowledge of their biology, and that methods proven for shallow-water corals have not been tested at depth, so their chance of success is still unknown. Recovery will be slow regardless, since deep-sea organisms grow at about 10% of the rate of shallow-water species. Brittany Croll, a NOAA environmental scientist involved in the Gulf restoration plans, remains hopeful that habitat restoration in shallower waters could indirectly help deep offshore communities, as many species move between the two zones.
More details are available in the full article, “Uncharted waters: Restoring deep Gulf fouled by BP spill,” published in the Chicago Tribune on June 3, 2016. Read the full Chicago Tribune article.
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Prof. Rinkevich's comments highlight how much remains unknown about deep-sea coral biology and why restoration at depth is far more complex than in shallow waters. The coverage reflects IOLR's role as a source of scientific expertise on coral health and marine ecosystem recovery.