Deepwater Horizon/BP Oil Spill Incident Update

7/26/10 - the team of Riverhead Foundation returned to the Gulf area and they are on the water today.

7/24/10 - due to Tropical Depression Bonnie the team of biologists returned to New York for a couple of days and they are scheduled to return to the Gulf as soon as the weather conditions improve.

The Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation has deployed rescue team members to the Gulf of Mexico to aid in wildlife recovery efforts. At the request of the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Wildlife Branch of the Incident Command Center for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the Riverhead Foundation rescue team members have been sent to provide support for surveillance and on water recovery efforts currently being employed to rescue oil impacted wildlife.

Robert A. DiGiovanni Jr., Executive Director and Senior Biologist, and Julika Wocial, Rescue Program Supervisor, were the first staff members deployed to the Gulf on July 7, 2010. As their initial shift came to an end, additional staff members were sent to Venice, LA, to continue sea turtle rescue efforts. Allison Chaillet, Gretchen Kowalik and Kenneth Howes, Riverhead Foundation biologists, are currently in the Gulf area working on rescuing oil affected sea turtles. All Riverhead Foundation staff rotating into the Gulf is trained in Incident Command System, Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) and marine mammal and sea turtle vessel and aerial survey techniques, making them a great resource for ongoing rescue and recovery operations.

The photos below were taken from the BP Flickr site. Visit the website for many more photos and a photo disclaimer.

Photo on the front page: The Mighty Servant 3 works in tandem with Vessels of Opportunity to recover thousands of barrels of crude oil from the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, thirty miles off the coast of Florida. 18 June 2010

Veterinarians treating recovered sea turtles at the Louisiana Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Rescue Program (LMMSTRP) coordinated by the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, at their Algiers rehab facility near New Orleans, Louisiana on Tuesday, 20 July, 2010

Gulfport, MS: July 6, 2010: Dr Connie Chevis with the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies examines turtles to verify how well they are responding to treatment after being effected by the Horizon incident on July 6, 2010 in Gulfport, MS.

Below are some helpful links detailing the number of rescued and recovered animals up to date and ongoing operations in the oil inflected areas.

NOAA Deepwater Horizon/BP Oil Spill Response

Deepwater Horizon Fish and Wildlife Report