From June 27–July 2, NOAA, the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, Moody Gardens, Georgia Aquarium, T&T Salvage LLC, and Anchor Diving joined forces and expertise aboard a Bordelon Marine vessel to remove over
From June 27–July 2, NOAA, the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, Moody Gardens, Georgia Aquarium, T&T Salvage LLC, and Anchor Diving joined forces and expertise aboard a Bordelon Marine vessel to remove over 1,700 pounds of debris (including 18 ghost nets and three trawling sledges) from Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary.
Flower Garden Banks, the only national marine sanctuary in the Gulf, is home to a diverse array of marine life, including mesophotic ecosystems, which exist within the ocean’s twilight zone at depths that are outside the limits for recreational diving (130 feet). Marine debris can threaten mesophotic habitats by smothering corals, entangling marine life, breaking reef structures, and introducing pollutants.
The science team, divers, dive operations team, and crane operators worked together to carry out round-the-clock operations to locate, rig, and remove derelict fishing gear from the seafloor at Stetson Bank. The target sites and individual debris items were identified during previous missions in the sanctuary dating back to 2009.
Commercial divers were employed to complete the necessary underwater tasks, using specialized equipment to reach the seafloor, and breathing a gas mix that allowed them to dive deeper than recreational depths. Their helmets were equipped with cameras and a
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