The second State of the Gulf of Mexico Summit held December 4 – 8 , 2011 , in Houston , Texas , highlighted the strong need for a platform to develop a shared vision of a healthy Gulf in the aftermath of the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill catastrophe . In order to formulate a roadmap for restoring the Gulf , government , NGO and academic experts addressed a broad range of issues including : loss of wetlands , hypoxia , coastal resiliency , ecosystem health , marine protected areas , international cooperation , oil spill recovery , and social and economic recovery
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies