Gulf of Mexico Regional Panel on Aquatic Invasive Species

Background

In late 1999, the Gulf of Mexico Program (Gulf Program), administered by the Environmental Protection Agency, was asked by the ANS Task Force to provide administrative support for forming a Regional Panel for the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf Program accepted the invitation and offered its Management Committee to serve as the Regional Panel, with their Invasive Species (then Nonindigenous) Focus Team providing technical support. It was recognized at the time that this was an unconventional way to structure a Regional Panel, and the consensus was to see if the structure would work to provide support to the panel.

In October 2001, during a meeting of the Gulf Program Management Committee, which served as the Gulf Regional Panel, a discussion ensued regarding concerns over the operation of the Gulf Regional Panel and the appropriate role of the Management Committee. As a result of that discussion, the Management Committee formed an ad hoc committee to assess how the Gulf Regional Panel operated and to develop options to make the Gulf Regional Panel process work better.

In December 2001, the ad hoc committee met in conjunction with the Invasive Species Focus Team to discuss ways to make the process work better. That discussion resulted in recommendations to have the Regional Panel restructured and that it should operate independent of the Gulf Program though administration by some Gulf-wide entity. The ad hoc committee agreed with and supported the recommendations made by the Invasive Species Focus Team and forwarded the recommendations to the Management Committee, which subsequently concurred. The Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission (GSMFC) was subsequently asked, and agreed, to provide administrative support for the Gulf Regional Panel, beginning in 2002. In 2004 and 2005, the States of Georgia and South Carolina, respectively, joined the Panel and the name was changed to the Gulf and South Atlantic Regional Panel on Aquatic Invasive Species.

A cooperative program of state, federal agencies and the private sector administered by the
Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission.*

* Current site content modified from original content developed by the University of Southern Mississippi/College of Marine Sciences/Gulf Coast Research Laboratory through a grant administered by the Gulf of Mexico Program.

	Gulf and South Atlantic Regional Panel on Aquatic Invasive Species