GM-20-02-Data Gap: Characterizing the Seafloor in the Mesophotic Zone

The seafloor in the mesophotic zone (40–150 m) represents an area where BOEM lacks sufficient scientific information to confidently render management decisions that are not overly burdensome. The Bureau has a clear need to characterize seafloor features, including shipwrecks, hard-bottom habitat, and pinnacles, and their ecological role to develop proper management and avoidance strategies based upon their ecological community structures. Shipwrecks provide a hard, artificial substrate for colonizing organisms and provide shelter from predation for a diverse array of marine life. The aim of...

Eligible applicants are coastal State Governments and Public, State-controlled institutions of higher education in the following Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESUs): Gulf Coast; Piedmont-South Atlantic Coast; Chesapeake Watershed; or North Atlantic Coast (see http://www.cesu.psu.edu). The specific project identified in Section 2 is intended for eligible applicants. However, cooperative research (establishment of teams) is encouraged and the applicant may include subcontracts to non-profit organizations, private institutions of higher education, private companies or public and state controlled institutions of higher education within their proposal. This research project is required to have a staff member of the applying organization as the Principal Investigator (PI). Cooperative research between interested organizations - i.e., state agencies, public universities, and non-profits in affected states - is always encouraged. Federal entities as partners are allowed, however the tasks performed by the Federal partner and the associated budget must be presented separately by the Federal partner. Other non-federal organizations may be partners and their tasks and budgets should be included in the non-profit’s proposal.

Paula Barksdale Paula.Barksdale@bsee.gov