Project Explorer - NOAA RESTORE Science Program An official website of the United States government. Here's how you know we're official. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS lock or means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Skip to content Research Area Region Year Funded Natural Resource An Ecosystem-Based Conservation Framework for Oyster Reefs coastal management, conservation planning, oyster restoration The project team will quantify the effects of oyster reef closures and other drivers on oyster reef functioning to help managers decide which reefs to close and when restoration is needed. View Project Assessing Ecosystem Modeling data synthesis, Ecosystem models, fishery management, food webs, habitat quality This project conducted a comprehensive review and assessment of ecosystem modeling efforts in the Gulf of Mexico. View Project Bahia Grande Ecosystem Recovery commercially important species, Ecosystem models, ecosystem restoration, fishery management, habitat quality Managers needed to know if the Bahia Grande ecosystem was functioning as a nursery and/or foraging grounds for fish to make informed decisions regarding whether to open Bahia Grande to public use. View Project Barrier Island Seagrass Community Restoration climate change, conservation planning, Decision support tool, Ecosystem models, ecosystem restoration, long-term monitoring This project scoped and designed a plan to address the uncertainties of restoring seagrasses and associated communities along barrier islands in Louisiana, which informed the restoration and long-term adaptive management of the Chandeleur Islands. View Project Bluefin Tuna Larvae climate change, commercially important species, Ecosystem models, fishery management, food webs, larval assessment, pollution/contaminant management This project investigated the link between nutrients, food availability, and the survival of Atlantic bluefin tuna larvae to improve stock assessments for this commercially and recreationally important species. View Project Building Next-Generation Fishery Forecasting Capacity climate change, commercially important species, data synthesis, fishery management The project team will address existing limitations and uncertainties in fisheries stock assessments by developing novel model diagnostics and interim assessment methods, which will be incorporated into active stock assessments to reduce the error, uncertainty, and throughput delays associated with overfishing limits and acceptable biological catch estimates. View Project Co-Production for Fishery Conservation coastal management, conservation planning, Decision support tool, Ecosystem models, population connectivity The project team identified challenges to sustaining sport fish nursery habitats, mapped out realistic management strategies, and planned research that informs management choices. View Project Coastal Bird Conservation coastal management, conservation planning, Decision support tool, endangered species This project identified uncertainties around the effects of coastal bird stewardship and habitat management actions. View Project Conservation Grazing in Coastal Uplands coastal management, conservation planning, Decision support tool, Ecosystem models This project developed a research plan addressing conservation grazing, or the use of livestock as an alternative or complementary habitat management strategy, in coastal uplands of the northern Gulf. View Project Cooperative Study of Spawning Aggregations climate change, commercially important species, Ecosystem models, fishery management, larval assessment, long-term monitoring, population connectivity This project team of scientists, fishers, and resource managers will work cooperatively to verify, characterize, monitor, and model multi-species fish spawning aggregations (FSAs) in the Gulf aiming to produce actionable science to facilitate FSA management and conservation. View Project Deep-Pelagic Fauna conservation planning, data synthesis, food webs, pollution/contaminant management, population connectivity, water quality This project identifies long-term trends in fish, shrimp, cephalopods, and other fauna in the deep-pelagic Gulf (open ocean midwaters beyond the continental shelf, from just below the surface to just above the bottom) and provides this information to resource managers responsible for the numerous species that rely on deep-pelagic fauna as prey, including marine mammals. View Project Deepwater Corals climate change, conservation planning, Decision support tool, Ecosystem models, larval assessment, physical oceanography, pollution/contaminant management, population connectivity This project determined where the corals in different mesophotic and deepwater populations in the Gulf of Mexico originated from, which is critical information for conserving and restoring these important habitats that were damaged by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. View Project Dolphin Multiple Stressor Assessments pollution/contaminant management The project team seeks to develop statistical models, analyses, and conceptual models based on laboratory and survey data to help managers conduct more targeted and specific risk assessments of Houston-area bottlenose dolphins potentially injured by releases of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxins. View Project Dolphin Tags conservation planning, endangered species, long-term monitoring, population connectivity This project developed a new and innovative approach for attaching satellite-linked tags to small cetaceans without having to capture them. View Project Drone Surveys and Oil Spill Response pollution/contaminant management The project team will use drone observations and NOAA forecasts to develop technology that seeks to improve manager response decisions to future oil spills in Galveston Bay and surrounding Texas coasts. View Project Ecosystem Indicators Inventory data synthesis, Ecosystem models, habitat quality, socioeconomic analysis This project created a comprehensive guide for management using indicators of five common coastal habitats: salt marsh, mangrove, seagrass, oyster beds/reefs, and coral reefs. View Project Fish Gene Tools commercially important species, fishery management This project will develop cutting-edge epigenetic ageing methods for Gulf fishes to improve the efficiency and accuracy of stock assessments. View Project Fisheries Ecosystem Models Decision support tool, Ecosystem models, fishery management, food webs, pollution/contaminant management This project integrated information on ecosystem stressors and predator-prey interactions into the fisheries assessment and management process in the Gulf of Mexico. View Project Fisheries on the Move commercially important species, fishery management This project will estimate historical, current, and future trends in the targeting, distribution, and growth of select fish species and changes within fish communities along the latitudinal gradient of Florida’s west coast in relation to changing ocean conditions to support adaptive management of recreational and commercial fisheries. View Project Forecasting of Riverine Inflows Decision support tool, Ecosystem models, pollution/contaminant management This project resulted in a management and forecast system that allows resource managers to explore tradeoffs from restoration strategies as well as examine and optimize various riverine inflows. View Project Freshwater Inflow Decision Tool Decision support tool, Ecosystem models, socioeconomic analysis, water quality This project explored the feasibility of a freshwater inflow decision tool to provide managers with a better understanding of the impact of allowing water to flow to the coast, and how to maximize environmental, social, and economic benefits while adapting to changing conditions over time. View Project Gulf Islands Case Study coastal management, Decision support tool, Ecosystem models, ecosystem restoration, endangered species, natural disasters The objective of the proposed project was to provide a transparent decision support framework to make optimal recommendations for listed species with conflicting habitat needs while also considering landowner objectives using a case study at the Gulf Islands National Seashore complex. View Project Gulf Islands Seagrass Habitat coastal management, water quality This project will identify drivers of change in seagrass communities by monitoring water quality, mapping seagrass extent, characterizing soundscapes and nekton communities, and developing ecosystem models to examine linkages between these variables and detect changes in habitat structure and function over time. View Project Gulf of Mexico Island and Beach Restoration coastal management, Decision support tool, Ecosystem models, ecosystem restoration, pollution/contaminant management Stakeholder engagement informed the development of a conceptual model to help environmental managers forecast how Gulf habitats and wildlife may respond to various island and beach restoration management actions. View Project Identifying Ecological Hotspots data synthesis, Decision support tool, long-term monitoring, natural disasters, water quality The project characterized the temporal and spatial variability of physical and biochemical oceanographic parameters in the Gulf of Mexico. View Project Related Organizations USA.gov Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Ocean Service Informational Links Freedom of Information Act Information Quality Website Disclaimer Survey Recent Announcements Leveraging Computer Modeling to Understand and Manage the Gulf Ecosystem April 23, 2026 Not on our Email List? Join Now!