Research Reports

Recovering and restoring the Gulf of Mexico from the injuries caused by the disaster is an astoundingly complex undertaking. The processes that have been initiated to spur the assessment and treatment of various types of harm at various scales of action are accordingly complex. While it is unknown how much will ultimately be spent to recover the Gulf of Mexico from Deepwater Horizon, restoration and recovery funds are steadily accumulating from the parties responsible for the disaster.

The Ocean Program supports Barbuda Blue Halo Initiative, which empowers Barbudans to restore their coastal waters by developing a science-based Sustainable Coastal Policy. ELI drafted the framework report to support sustainable fisheries and coastal zoining in Barbuda.

Antigua and Barbuda have a variety of laws and policies relevant to the marine environment, ranging from sector-specific authorities such as the Fisheries Act to planning authorities to general jurisdictional authorities such as the Maritime Areas Act. This Report focuses on the subset of laws and regulations that are particularly relevant for sustainable fisheries management and protection in the waters surrounding Barbuda, and particularly those legal authorities that enable ocean zoning. 

On April 20, 2010, an explosion rocked the Deepwater Horizon mobile offshore drilling unit. Eleven crewmen lost their lives in the blast, and the rig burned for the next thirty-six hours. Then, forty-one miles off the southeast coast of Louisiana, the Deepwater Horizon sank. Back at the wellhead, a quarter-mile away and 5,000 feet beneath the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, the environmental disaster was just beginning.