Abstract

On April 20, 2010, the British Petroleum Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). For almost three months a torrent of oil and gas were spewed into the GOM. It is estimated that more than 4.9 million barrels of oil were released causing the closure of 88,522 square miles of federal waters to fishing and affecting hundreds of miles of shoreline, bayous, and bays. This spill was one of the worst man-made environmental disasters in US history.¹ The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies (IMMS) was designated as an oil response center for dolphins, sea turtles and manatees. The majority of the animals responded to were live and dead sea turtles and dead dolphins. This presentation will discuss the efforts of IMMS in responding to this unprecedented man-made disaster. The discussion will include preparation of the facility and personnel, response to dead and live animals, cleaning of oiled sea turtles, and the rehabilitation, satellite tagging, and release of sea turtles.^1-9

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank IMMS employees Shannon Huyser, Shea Eaves, Emma Jarvis, Kelly Pulis, Becky Winstead, Wendy Hatchett, Skipper Talley, Jennifer Fleming, Justin Main and the many volunteers at IMMS who worked tirelessly and at all hours of the day or night during the oil spill.

References

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