Research Vessel RV Odyssey Returns to the Gulf of Mexico for a Fifth Season
By Iain Kerr
Dr. Iain Kerr aboard the RV Odyssey
Photo: Sea Shepherd / Eliza MuirheadI’ve spent the last two weeks with a remarkable international crew aboard the RV Odyssey prepping for our fifth summer of data and sample collection in the Gulf of Mexico, part of Ocean Alliance’s joint Operation Toxic Gulf campaign with Sea Shepherd. Our crewmembers represent six countries: Australia, Great Britain, Germany, Holland, Spain and the USA.
For many, the 2010 Gulf disaster is merely a distant memory. For the wildlife and residents of the Gulf, the legacy lives on, more often than not in the abyss. Ocean ecosystems are so complex and intertwined that it can sometimes be hard to link events with consequences. However, common sense can give you a good start on that long journey. When an oil well explosion releases more than 200 million gallons of oil and the slick it creates gets treated with an unprecedented 2-million-plus gallons of dispersants, reason should lead you to conclude that there will be significant consequences. After all, 25 years after the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster, its effects are still being felt in Alaska.