This project will integrate information on ecosystem stressors and predator-prey interactions into the fisheries assessment and management process in the Gulf of Mexico.

This dataset is a collection of files containing the necessary inputs to, and relevant outputs from, the U.S. Gulf-wide ecosystem model, developed using the Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) modeling software package. The spatial extent of the model is 25°-30.5° N and -81° to -97.3° W and hindcast simulations were run in Ecosim from 1980 (the Ecopath snapshot year) to 2016 at a monthly timestep. Input parameters for Ecopath include biomass, consumption, mortality, diet, landings, and discards for 78 functional groups included in the model. Each input or output parameter type is included as its own csv file with informative names.

This dataset includes outputs from an ecosystem model, which is a tool for regional science managers to explore marine spatial planning scenarios in the context of static and dynamic environmental covariates. The dataset includes predicted fish biomass from the Ecopath with Ecosim and Ecospace model set up over the Florida Reef Tract, during eight scenarios and across 36 trophic groups during the time period between 1994 and 2012. Simulations considered all pairwise combinations of changing the size of Marine Protected Areas (‘existing MPAs’, ‘large MPAs’), varying rates of movement via modeled diffusion (‘low diffusion’, ‘high diffusion’), and increasing fishing effort (total effect multiplier; ‘low TEM’, ‘high TEM’).

This dataset is based on archives from the University of Miami’s high-resolution (1/50 degrees, 1.8km) configuration of the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM-HYCOM 1/50) for the year of 2015. The GoM-HYCOM 1/50 used realistic river forcing parameterization with daily river discharge obtained from the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Atmospheric forcing was from the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) at 0.125-degree spatial resolution and it is nested within a Global HYCOM. The model assimilated satellite observations of sea surface temperature and sea surface height and in situ observations of temperature and salinity. The GOM-HYCOM 1/50 gives details on the fronts and filaments associated with the Mississippi River plume dynamics, as well as GoM mesoscale processes. The dataset includes the surface model fields of temperature, salinity, currents and sea surface height from the GoM-HYCOM 1/50 at 12Z along with two experimental simulations designed to study the effect of river front; Reference, noMR (without Mississippi River), and noMR_noPcip (without Mississippi River and precipitation).

This project explores how oyster, blue crab, and spotted seatrout populations respond to human and environmental changes with the goal of improving the management of these economically and culturally important species.

This project compiled and evaluated existing information on fish spawning aggregations in the Gulf of Mexico as the basis to design a cooperative, Gulf-wide conservation and monitoring program focused on fish spawning aggregations. The investigators compiled existing biological and fisheries information for Gulf of Mexico species known or likely to form spawning aggregations and identified existing datasets and monitoring programs in the Gulf of Mexico that could inform regional monitoring of spawning aggregations.

Galveston Bay and the surrounding Texas coast are vulnerable to marine oil spills, from both the high volume of marine commerce through the Galveston Bay ship channel and from offshore oil exploration. The project team will use drone observations and NOAA forecasts to develop technology that seeks to improve manager response decisions to future oil spills in a RESTORE Science funded project from 2023 to 2028. This dataset includes UAS drone survey video and still imagery data of the ocean surface with corresponding measurements of near-surface ocean currents. Additionally, the following associated data are included: UTM coordinates, Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) measurements of ocean currents within the water column, CTD measurements of temperature and salinity across the water column. The data was collected at Galveston Bay (entrance channel and across the Houston ship channel inside the bay) and Freeport, Texas. This dataset will be collected over 3 initial field-testing periods followed by quarterly surveys and oil spill event-based response surveys. The UAS surveys are stored as .MOV video files and still images (JPG), and the accompanying txt files containing the processed near-surface ocean currents data. Please note that still image files will not be available for every survey. The ADCP measurements are stored as txt files, for each of the east(u), north(v) and vertical(w) components of velocity, along with the magnitude and direction. The temperature and salinity profiles are stored as CSV files. GPS data of the boat location from which some UAS surveys are conducted is stored as csv files. This dataset is a result of research funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's RESTORE Science Program (ROR - https://ror.org/0042xzm63) under award NA23NOS4510309 to Texas A&M University.

Best Management Practices for shoreline protection measures in Galveston Bay, Texas, based on the Shoreline Management Model (SMM) V5.1 model created by Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Center for Coastal Resources Management. Digital format as shapefile.

Restoration of beach, dune, and back-barrier marsh habitats at the Caillou Lake Headlands location occurred on Whiskey Island, a barrier island in the Isle Dernieres reach of the Terrebonne Basin barrier system. The project was federally authorized under the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 and selected as a preferred alternative in the Terrebonne Basin Barrier Shoreline Restoration (TBBSR) Integrated Feasibility Study and Final Environmental Impact Statement (United States Corps of Engineers (USACE) 2010)), and included in the 2012 Louisiana's Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast. The restoration used approximately 10.5 million cubic yards of sand/sediment to restore 954 acres beach, dune, and marsh. NOAA is the lead Trustee for the design and construction of this project component, working cooperatively with Louisiana and the DOI.

The dataset includes UAS drone surveys of the ocean surface with corresponding measurements of near-surface ocean currents. Additionally, the following associated data are included: UTM coordinates, Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) measurements of ocean currents within the water column, CTD measurements of temperature and salinity across the water column. The data was collected at Galveston Bay (entrance channel and across the Houston ship channel inside the bay) and Freeport, Texas. This dataset will be collected over 3 initial field-testing periods followed by quarterly surveys and oil spill event-based response surveys. The UAS surveys are stored as .MOV video files and still images (JPG), and the accompanying txt files containing the processed near-surface ocean currents data. Please note that still image files will not be available for every survey. The ADCP measurements are stored as txt files, for each of the east(u), north(v) and vertical(w) components of velocity, along with the magnitude and direction. The temperature and salinity profiles are stored as CSV files. GPS data of the boat location from which some UAS surveys are conducted is stored as csv files.