Why It Matters: If you have ever fished offshore in the Gulf of Mexico from Alabama to Texas, chances are, you found fish near an offshore oil and gas platform. For three-quarters of a century, these steel structures that were constructed to extract petroleum to meet energy demands have created valuable habitat for fish, corals, and other invertebrates, in addition to serving as important fishing destinations for anglers and commercial fishermen alike. Unfortunately, many have been removed through decommissioning, and many more are currently undergoing decommissioning, or soon will be.
- Beginning in the late 1940’s, nearly 7,000 offshore oil and gas platforms were installed in the Gulf of Mexico, providing otherwise scarce hard substrates that become the catalyst for thriving mini marine ecosystems.
- Unfortunately, only about 1,200 remain, with many of those nearing or having reached the end of their production life and will have to be removed or converted to artificial reefs through the Rigs to Reefs program.
- CSF and TRCP organized a panel at ICAST to inform attendees about the benefits of these artificial structures, how the Rigs to Reefs Program works, and the efforts in Congress to save what is left for fish and fishermen.
At last week’s Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership’s (TRCP) Conservation Summit, held annually in conjunction with the International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades (ICAST) in Orlando, Florida, CSF and TRCP partnered on a panel to explore a concerning trend in the removal of oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and the subsequent loss of valuable fish habitat. Specifically, hard substrates represent a relatively small portion of the total seafloor of the outer continental shelf in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf), yet hard substrates provide the catalyst for teaming reef ecosystems, from corals and other invertebrates to popular commercial and recreational fish species. Unfortunately, there are only about 1,200 platforms remaining from a high of nearly 7,000 through time, and with many more slated to be removed soon, we stand to lose a significant amount of well-established marine reef ecosystems.
Dr. Matthew Streich with the Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, began the panel by presenting some of their research on the benefits of artificial habitat in the form of oil and gas infrastructure. Their research findings include indications that oil and gas infrastructure serves equally as well as habitat for many reef fish species as natural bottom habitats, and that platforms that are reefed in place using a partial removal (i.e., cutting the upper portion of the jackets at 60 to 80 feet below the waterline) and leaving the original base intact had the highest diversity of reef fish species, short of a fully intact platform.
Craig Newton, the Rigs to Reefs Coordinator for the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, next spoke to the Rigs to Reefs program, which provides an opportunity for the platform owners to donate the structure to a state’s artificial reef program. Craig discussed the benefits of the program and the regulatory process for accepting a donated platform into the program, which generally takes between 24-48 months to complete.
CSF’s Senior Director, Fisheries Policy Chris Horton rounded out the panel by summarizing the importance the Gulf’s oil and gas infrastructure in providing habitat to not only fish and fishermen, but also to many species of corals which are doing well in the northern Gulf because of oil and gas platforms but are suffering from the impacts of climate change elsewhere. Chris concluded by highlighting CSF’s ongoing legislative efforts to pause decommissioning on important oil and gas infrastructure with established reef fish communities while facilitating the donation of these structures to a state’s Rigs to Reefs Program.
