EAST AND WEST BANK MONITORING

The earliest quantitative data on coral and other invertebrate cover at the Flower Garden Banks was collected in 1972 in 27 quadrants, each measuring approximately 12 square meters (Bright and Pequegnat, 1974). The first regularly collected data on benthic communities occurred in 1978 (Viada, 1980) and continued through 1983 (CSA, 1985). This work was prompted by the drilling activities of Mobil Exploration and Producing U.S., Inc., within 1.7 km of the coral reefs on the East Flower Garden Bank.

Minerals Management Service (MMS) required that industry sponsor the monitoring program as well as pre- and post-drilling surveys to evaluate the fate and effects of their discharges on the sensitive biological assemblages inhabiting the nearby banks. This involved chemical analysis of sediments taken from the vicinity of the platforms but did not involve biological collections from either of the banks.

Following the completion of the study by CSA for Mobil in 1983 and because no new activity was proposed, no further benthic monitoring was conducted at the Flower Garden Banks for nearly 6 years.

In consultation with academia and industry, MMS developed a comprehensive benthic monitoring program for the Flower Garden Banks in the late 1980's. Between 1988 and 1992 they issued a contract for the first three years of work on this Long Term Monitoring program. This program has remained in place, with some modifications, through 2008.

With the arrival of the R/V Manta, a state-ofthe-art research vessel, in 2008, it was decided that the sanctuary now had the capabilities to take on the Long-Term Monitoring program itself. In August 2009, the sanctuary completed its first data collection efforts at East and West Flower Garden Banks.

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MMS Reports

For detailed reports on the East and West Bank Long-term Monitoring efforts, as well as many other interesting reports about the Gulf of Mexico region, you can visit the following Minerals Management Service (MMS) web site: http://www.gomr.mms.gov/homepg/regulate/environ/techsumm/rec_pubs.html

A complete listing of those reports that pertain specifically to the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary can be found below.

You may also download the most recent reports directly from this page.

2008

MMS 2008-027 Long Term Monitoring at the East and West Flower Garden Banks 2004-2005 - Interim Report Vol. I: Technical Report (4.1MB pdf)
MMS 2008-028 Long Term Monitoring at the East and West Flower Garden Banks 2004-2005 - Interim Report Vol. II: Appendices (5.7MB pdf)
MMS 2008-019 Post Hurricane Assessment at the East Flower Garden Bank Long Term Monitoring site: November 2005 (6.1MB pdf)

2006

MMS 2006-035 Long Term Monitoring at the East and West Flower Garden Banks 2002-2003 (8MB pdf)
MMS 2006-037 Effect of Depth, Location, and Habitat Type, on Relative Abundance and Species Composition of Fishes Associated with Petroleum Platforms and Sonnier Bank in the Northern Gulf of Mexico (4.1MB pdf)

2003

MMS 2003-031 Long Term Monitoring at the East and West Flower Garden Banks 2000-2001 (2.7MB)

2001

MMS 2001-101 Long Term Monitoring at the East and West Flower Garden Banks 1998-1999 (13MB pdf)

1999

MMS 99-0005 Long Term Monitoring at the East and West Flower Garden Banks 1996-1997

1996

MMS 96-0046 Long Term Monitoring at the East and West Flower Garden Banks

1992

ESS 1992-1 Hydrographic Observations from a Gas Production Platform: High Island Addition Mobile 389
MMS 92-0006 Long Term Monitoring at the East and West Flower Garden Banks
MMS 92-0026 Mississippi-Alabama Shelf Pinnacle Trend Habitat Mapping Study

1985

MMS 85-0024 The Flower Gardens: A Compendium of Information

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1983

ESS-1983-1 Reefs and Banks of the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico: Their Geological, Biological, and Physical Dynamics, Final Report
ESS-1983-20 Reefs and Banks of the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico: Their Geological, Biological, and Physical Dynamics, Executive Summary

1982

ESS-1982-3 Environmental Studies at the Flower Gardens and Selected Banks: Northwestern Gulf of Mexico, 1979-1981, Executive Summar
ESS-1982-20 Environmental Studies at the Flower Gardens and Selected Banks: Northwestern Gulf of Mexico, 1979-1981, Final Report
ESS-1982-19 Northwestern Gulf of Mexico Topographic Features Study, Hydrographic Data Report
ESS-1982-22 Northwestern Gulf of Mexico Topographic Features Study, Time Series Data Report
ESS-1982-36 Study of the Effect of Oil & Gas Activities on Reef Fish Populations in the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf Area
ESS-1982-40 Study of the Effect of Oil & Gas Activities on Reef Fish Populations in the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf Area

1981

ESS 1981-18 Northwestern Gulf of Mexico Topographic Features Study, Executive Summary
Unnumbered Northwestern Gulf of Mexico Topographic Features Study, Volume 1
ESS 1981-19 Northwestern Gulf of Mexico Topographic Features Study, Volume 2
ESS 1981-20 Northwestern Gulf of Mexico Topographic Features Study, Volume 3
ESS 1981-21 Northwestern Gulf of Mexico Topographic Features Study, Volume 4
ESS 1981-22 Northwestern Gulf of Mexico Topographic Features Study, Volume 5

1978

ESS 1978-2 Fauna of Shelf-Edge Submarine Banks in the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico
ESS 1978-4 Northwestern Gulf of Mexico Topographic Features Study, Final Report

1976

ESS 1976-2 A Biological and Geological Reconnaissance of Selected Topographical Features on the Texas Continental Shelf, Final Report

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