Date of Award
Master of Arts in Marine Affairs
Is it possible to provide adequate protection for the Georges Bank ecosystem as oil and gas exploration begins? The fishing industry and environmentalists say "no," but it is the resource managers who are faced with the task of predicting, assessing and mitigating impacts of development while at the same time managing resources and protecting fishery habitats. Much of this responsibility falls within NOAA; however, legislative mandates and agency responsibilities and goals mean that several other federal agencies are involved as well. This paper is an attempt to describe the potential impacts of oil and gas exploration on the Georges Bank ecosystem and on the coastal zone. It also describes how these impacts are assessed or mitigated by legislative mandate through agency programs with special emphasis on NOAA.
Griswold, Carolyn A., "Oil and Gas Development on Georges Bank: The Responsibility of Federal Agencies for Assessment and Mitigation of Potential Impacts on the Ecosystem" (1980). Theses and Major Papers. Paper 96.