Gulf of Mexico Research Plan

Summary

The effort to develop a regional research plan for the Gulf of Mexico began in 2007 and resulted in a plan that was released in 2009. The plan is currently being updated using input that has been collected since 2009. The mission of the Gulf of Mexico Research Plan (GMRP) is to identify priority research needs for the Gulf of Mexico through broad constituent input and to implement strategies to address those needs. This project assists the Gulf of Mexico research community, including those who conduct or administer research or use research findings in their profession.

The four Gulf of Mexico Sea Grant College Programs are coordinating the GMRP, but numerous groups including a Planning and Review Council have guided the development of the plan. During the development and update of the GMRP, people have provided input about regional research needs through two large-scale surveys and eight workshops. Another large-scale survey is being released in the fall of 2013.

The need for input on regional research needs for the Gulf of Mexico is greater than ever before as numerous groups and agencies begin developing their science plans in response to resources from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. They identified the need to coordinate their efforts.

The 2013 interim report for the GMRP is available here. The 2009 GMRP, supporting documents, and appendices are available at the report webpage.