Mashpee-Wampanoag Tribe Oil Spill Response Plan Workshop
JUNE 12, 2023 — On May 16-17, William Whitmore, OR&R’s Northeast Scientific Support and Regional Preparedness Coordinator, participated in a two-day oil spill planning workshop with MIT Sea Grant and the Mashpee-Wampanoag Tribe. The workshop, which was funded through OR&R’s Disaster Preparedness Program and the National Sea Grant Office, was the first step in a collaborative effort to help the Mashpee-Wampanoag tribe create an oil spill response plan for its aquaculture sites along the south coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Workshop attendees included staff from the U.S. Coast Guard, MIT Sea Grant, NOAA, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, and natural resource managers from the Tribe and local municipalities.
William Whitmore was able to share his unique experience on oil spill response and planning as well as different roles and responsibilities of NOAA and the U.S. Coast Guard during oil spill response. Tribal members and state aquaculture experts discussed current aquaculture methods and different ways to prevent loss during an oil spill. Additional workshops are being scheduled.