The Gulf Coast Aquatic Health Program covers the Global Center for Aquatic Health and Food Security (GCAHFS) projects that take place on the Mississippi coast. These projects all strive to address different aquatic health needs to protect and maintain the health of aquatic animals like dolphins and Kemp’s ridley sea turtles through veterinary care and innovative research.
To learn more about these projects, click the names for a short description, or visit each project’s page by clicking the thumbnails below. To learn more about these programs, visit the media page to check out GCAHFS latest news.
Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Health Program
The Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Health Program is funded by a grant from the Natural Resources Damage Assessment under the Mississippi Trustee Implementation Group Restoration Plan 3/Environmental Assessment; it is administered by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. Through this grant, the program performs diagnostic investigations in the Mississippi Sound, mainly on sea turtles and bottlenose dolphins. The project aims to bolster state partnerships, enhance stranding network capacity, and perform health assessments to rehabilitate and release injured sea turtles. The team of MSU researchers and students also implement mortality assessments on bottlenose dolphins and sea turtles to assess the cause of death to alleviate further deterioration of the populations.
Evaluation and Monitoring of Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Abundance, Population Health, Habitat Delineation, and Restoration Program
The Evaluation and Monitoring of Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Abundance, Population Health, Habitat Delineation, and Restoration Program (EM MMST) is funded by the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, which is administered by the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. This project assesses the population dynamics of marine mammals and sea turtles, their health, and the delineation of their habitat to effectively understand and monitor the restoration and recovery of these animals, particularly, the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, which is the most endangered sea turtle species.
MSU Gulf Coast Aquatic Health Laboratory
Funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) allowed for the establishment of the MSU Gulf Coast Aquatic Health Laboratory. This high-quality laboratory is used to conduct research and provide innovative diagnostic services for animal and environmental health. This lab will also support the other Gulf Coast Aquatic Health Program projects and serve stakeholders in the state, region, and nation.