Priority Areas Suggested by Stakeholders for Restoration and Protection of Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities Injured by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

A vast area of the Gulf of Mexico's Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities (MDBC) was affected by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Efficiently implementing restoration and protection for the oil spill as described in the 2016 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Final Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan and Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PDARP/PEIS) requires that priority areas be identified for restoring and protecting MDBCs in the northern Gulf of Mexico. New series name established previous series name NOAA technical memorandum DWH MDBC ; 001 Contract no. EA133C17BA0062