G.P. Schmahl is the retired Superintendent of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS), one of 15 marine sanctuaries administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that protects some of the nation’s premiere marine environments.
The Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, located 80 to 125 miles off the coast of Texas and Louisiana, protects portions of 15 reefs, banks and underwater features, including the northernmost coral reefs in the continental United States, and serves as a regional reservoir of shallow-water and mesophotic Caribbean reef fishes and invertebrates.
Under his leadership, the FGBNMS boundaries were expanded three-fold and a comprehensive research program was established, including the construction and launching of the RV Manta, an 83-foot research vessel.
Beginning in 1991, Schmahl served as manager of NOAA’s Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary, and since 1997 served as the Lower Keys regional manager for NOAA’s Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Schmahl has more than 40 years of experience in coral reef ecology and conservation, including the establishment and monitoring of the Florida Keys Sanctuary’s no-take marine reserves. His primary interest is the ecology and management of coral reefs and associated ecosystems, and he has specific interest and expertise in the biology and ecology of marine sponges.
G.P. is a long-term member and supporter of Turtle Island Restoration Network and has participated and assisted on several of TIRN’s Cocos Island expeditions.