The federal-state group overseeing restoration efforts in the Gulf has approved more than $210 million for fish and sea turtle recovery projects as part of its ongoing response to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group announced the release of its "Final Restoration Plan 4 and Environmental Assessment: Fish and Water Column Invertebrates and Sea Turtles" on June 12. The 317-page plan outlines ten projects that will unfold over the next 8 to 15 years. Six are aimed at restoring fish and water column invertebrates while four target sea turtle conservation.

All ten projects were listed as preferred alternatives in the draft version of the plan, which was released in October 2024. Following a 45-day public comment period, the Trustees hosted two webinars on Nov. 14 and Nov. 20 to engage with stakeholders and answer questions. Nineteen comments were received and reviewed, with responses and plan revisions detailed in Chapter 1 and Appendix G of the final document. All comments are now part of the project's administrative record.

The fish and invertebrate restoration projects include:
• Return 'Em Right: Species and Area Expansion

Sea turtle restoration efforts will focus on:
• Long-term nesting habitat protection in Florida
• Bycatch reduction
• Vessel strike reduction
• Enhancements to the Sea Turtle Stranding Network and emergency response capacity

The Trustees determined the plan complies with the overarching "Programmatic Restoration Plan" and serves to compensate for injuries to marine resources and ecosystem services caused by the oil spill. On June 6, the group issued a Finding of No Significant Impact for the projects outlined in Restoration Plan 4.

Summaries and factsheets related to the plan are available at public repositories across the Gulf. The full document can be accessed at www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov.