NOAA Administrator Briefs Port of Mobile Officials on Oil Spill Response Efforts

May 8, 2010 – Mobile, Ala. – Top officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrator (NOAA) were on hand today to brief Alabama State Port Authority officials on the agency’s response and support efforts on the DEEPWATER HORIZON oil spill in the U.S. Gulf. NOAA, the nation’s leading scientific resource, is the lead scientific agency to the U.S. Coast Guard and the Unified Command for the oil spill incident.

Jimmy Lyons, director and CEO for the Alabama State Port Authority, welcomed the briefing from NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco and her senior staff from the Gulf of Mexico Disaster Response Center. “We deeply appreciated the time Dr. Lubchenco and her team provided today as we continue to struggle with the implications of this disaster,” said Lyons. “NOAA’s contributions and incredible array of data relative to this spill has been strategically vital to our ability to keep commerce flowing at the Port of Mobile.” Lyons in his remarks to Dr. Lubchenco recognized NOAA’s close collaboration and ongoing partnership with the Port of Mobile noting, “our NOAA communications have been and will continue to be key to mitigating the near and long term effects of this disaster.”

Dr. Lubchenco briefed representatives from the Port Authority and Senator Richard Shelby’s field office on NOAA’s ongoing efforts to predict the oil spill path, provide up-to–the-minute weather information to support response workers, assess impacted species, and to survey the extent of marine pollution associated with the spill. NOAA stands shoulder to shoulder with Gulf coast communities during this challenging team. NOAA's response to the BP oil spill has been immediate and sustained, strategic and scientific, said Lubchenco.

Dr. Lubchenco also updated the group on the status of fishery closures in federal waters. She noted that as important as these closures are, 95 percent of the Gulf of Mexico remains open to fishing. According to NOAA’s Fish Stocks Fact Sheet, U.S. Gulf commercial fisheries in 2008 provided 1.27 billion pounds of finfish and shellfish to consumers and earnings represented $659 million in total landings revenue. That same year, 3.2 million recreational fishermen represented 24 million fishing trips in the U.S. Gulf.

The Port Authority receives twice daily oil spill trajectory models that aid the Harbormaster and operations management at the Port of Mobile in their ongoing communications with vessels, agents, terminal operators, manufacturers, and financial analysts. As of 3:00 pm CDT today, spill trajectories continue to show light sheening well offshore from Mobile over the next three days. To view NOAA trajectories and other key oil spill response log onto http://www.asdd.com/oil_incident.html.

The Port of Mobile is the 9th largest U.S. seaport in total volume. The Alabama State Port Authority, headquartered in Mobile, Ala., owns and operates the State of Alabama’s deepwater port facilities. The Authority’s container, general cargo, bulk, and heavy lift terminals have immediate access to two interstate systems, five Class 1 railroads, four-day rail service to Mexico and nearly 15,000 miles of inland waterway connections. To learn more, log onto www.asdd.com.