Americans, by and large, have three different images of the Gulf of Mexico. The first is of idyllic white sand beaches and palm trees that line the west coast of Florida and Alabama; the second is of vast marshlands off the coast of Louisiana filled with birds and other wildlife; and the last is of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster with oil gushing out of the underwater pipe and oiled birds and turtles floating lifeless on the surface of the water.  These conflicting images, especially the last, have thrust the pollution and health of the Gulf of Mexico into the public consciousness in a way and at a scale that has never happened before. Significantly, the last image of the blowout preventor spewing oil into the water column, onto the surface of the water, and in the marshes showed people that the Gulf is more than just a collection of sparkling waves and beaches. These events illustrated that the Gulf has depth and is home to ecosystems as varied and dynamic as wafting sea grass beds, coastal marshes, open ocean spawning areas, and near-lightless coral reefs. The Deepwater Horizon spill damaged many rich, unique ecosystems of the Gulf. Unfortunately, restoring quite a few of these sites to undamaged condition will be difficult, if not impossible. Also, the cumulative and long term effects of the oil and dispersants may not be fully known for many years. Sites that were deep underwater close to the outpouring of oil, coastal waters where oil mats formed and sank, and marshes that were heavily coated with oil will take a very, very long time to regain health, if ever. 

One way of mitigating or compensating for this long lasting damage is to protect comparable ecosystems in undamaged locations.  But these relatively undamaged places face threats besides oil pollution, such as climate change, destructive fishing methods, and water pollution that can be controlled or moderated by other measures. Recognizing this, Marine Conservation Institute wanted to highlight ten (out of hundreds) of the most spectacular areas found in the US region of the Gulf of Mexico that remain undamaged by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill but could use protection from other threats. The “Gulf Gems” we chose range in depth from just a few feet to hundreds of feet, and contain hundreds of species which need clean water and protection from extractive activities. Our Gulf Gems span the breadth of the Gulf, from Texas to Louisiana to the Florida Keys. While not intended to represent the full span of important ecosystems across the Gulf, they do showcase some of its places that are still untouched enough to contain incredible ecosystems worth preserving. 

 
We believe that protecting sites is important, whether from destructive bottom trawl fishing, extractive oil and gas activities, or coastal pollution from nutrients or sediments. In most cases, there are several ways to protect each one of our Gulf Gem sites, ranging from critical habitat status designation under the Magnuson-Stevens fishery law (e.g. Habitat Areas of Particular Concern), to national marine sanctuary or national monument status, or simply limitations on nearby oil and gas exploration. These suggestions are just that – initial ideas that will require much more detailed analysis and balancing. While we have tried to suggest a specific enhanced protective status for each Gulf Gem, we ask the reader to focus not so much on that but on the wonderful places, rich biodiversity, and unique ecosystems represented in our selected Gulf Gems. We hope that you will agree that our underwater Gulf Gems are every bit as spectacular and worthy of care as the beautiful beaches, bayous, and bays with which most people are familiar. Our aim is to inspire efforts to protect these underwater places much as citizens around the Gulf have worked to protect their marshes, beaches, and bays.