NCCOS scientists (Tim Battista, Charles Menza, Chris Taylor, Randy Clark and Sarah Hile) led two workshops at NMFS Southeast Regional Office in St. Petersburg, FL, the week of Dec 5 to focus on the Mapping, Ground-Truthing and Modeling (MGM), and the Habitat Assessment and Evaluation (HAE) projects as part of the Deepwater Horizon Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Community (MDBC) restoration. The meetings are annual workshops designed to evaluate annual accomplishments, shortfalls, and determine adaptive management strategies, if needed.

MGM, and other NOAA and DOI partners met on Dec 5 and with external partners on Dec 6; and similarly, the HAE team (NOAA and DOI) met on Dec 7 and with external partners on Dec 8. Outcomes of the meetings focused on project success in 2022, identified synergies with other MDBC projects, and identified sites for 2023 field work. At the end of the workshop, project managers from MGM and HAE met to discuss collaborations and coalesce 2023 field priorities into a cohesive plan.