For years, members of the Sierra Club’s Lone Star Chapter have advocated for protection of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in the Gulf of Mexico. It’s composed of banks of underwater “flowers” -- coral reefs -- and coral “cap species,” like the queen angel fish, turtles, and even rays.
“It also provides a ‘sea wonderland’ view for scuba divers to see in person the diversity of life found in the Gulf of Mexico,” said Brandt Mannchen of the Houston Group of the Lone Star Chapter.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is currently proposing an expansion to the sanctuary, which the Lone Star Chapter fully supports but which is being fought by the oil industry. NOAA is considering four expansion proposals -- as well as maintaining the status quo -- developed after listening to input from local stakeholders. The proposals would not prevent low-impact fishing and recreational diving. Instead, it will create common-sense regulations to protect this place.
That’s why supporters of the expansion filled two public hearings on the measure earlier this month.
“With the added attention created by the BP oil spill -- which fortunately did not affect the existing sanctuary -- as well as the Obama administration’s plans to continue allowing additional drilling in the Gulf, our chapter and local group also see the expansion as one way to limit future drilling in the Gulf,” said Cyrus Reed, conservation director of the Lone Star Chapter.
Both Reed and Mannchen testified at the hearings and said the majority who were there are in favor of the expansion.
“I testified first that better information on climate change, air emissions, fishing statistics, and other impacts are needed, as well as a clear sense of what the budgetary and management needs would be to expand, which I said we favored,” said Reed.
Reed said the Galveston hearing where he spoke included testimony from a number of anglers --- commercial and recreational -- who want to make sure there are still areas to fish.
“Many of the species that utilize the habitat of the sanctuary are also important economically since fish like Red Snapper are caught and sold from the Gulf,” Reed said. “I testified that I was in favor of allowing some areas to be fished, with commonsense regulations, but also believed that at least part of the original sanctuary should be set aside as a research only area.”
Mannchen said he was and wasn’t surprised to see testimony from the oil industry claiming their livelihood was threatened. “It was memorable that the industry apparently has supporters who are so parsimonious that they would testify against any expansion and claim that any expansion would hurt the oil and gas industry to any degree,” he said.
He added that one author/researcher who testified used this comparison to describe the “impact” on the oil industry: if the Gulf of Mexico is a basketball court, the varying expansion proposals take up 19 inches by 19 inches of that whole court -- meaning they’d have almost no effect on any Gulf of Mexico use.
That’s if you view the Gulf of Mexico solely as a resource for the oil and gas industry, too.
Now NOAA will wait until the end of the comment period, review the comments, and then make a decision about which alternative it will approve -- and this whole process will take up to two years, said Mannchen.
And the Sierra Club will be there to speak up for protection and expansion of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary the whole way.
NOAA will be taking comments through August 29th. For more information about the proposal and to comment on the proposed expansion, visit this Action Alert page.