PRD Sea Turtle Funded Projects and Activities

This project is used as a parent of projects that are funded by grants that generate reports. PRD provides technical support of grant projects, with grants administered via the Operations, Management and Information Division (OMID) of the Pacific Islands Regional Office. PIRO funds sea turtle conservation, protection, or management projects that support recovery of Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed sea turtle species occurring within the Pacific Islands Region (PIR) or of aggregations that may be shared between the PIR and other Pacific nations. NOAA/NMFS also may fund internationally-based projects of sea turtle populations that originate from the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (i.e. from areas outside U.S. jurisdiction) but migrate through or forage within the PIR, are impacted by PIR activities managed by NOAA/NMFS, and projects that are otherwise relevant to NOAA/NMFS management and recovery obligations.

Sea turtle projects support, inform, or build capacity for the conservation, protection, or management of ESA-listed sea turtle species, and have clear scientific-based methods that address important conservation, management, and recovery tasks as defined by the U.S. Sea Turtle Recovery Plans. Program priorities for funding include:

1. Projects that advance the scientific understanding or promote conservation of in-water populations of sea turtles occurring within the PIR (including marine habitat restoration that may benefit sea turtle recovery);

2. Projects that work to develop or implement measures to reduce sea turtle bycatch and mortality in recreational, artisanal or commercial Pacific fisheries;

3. Projects that monitor and promote conservation of western Pacific leatherbacks, North Pacific loggerheads, and hawksbill turtles in Hawaii;

4. Community-based education, outreach, or training projects designed to elevate public awareness and build local capacity for sea turtle conservation and stewardship to reduce the take (e.g., harvest) of green and hawksbill turtles of the PIR or in international regions with population linkages to the PIR; and

5. Projects that provide a high conservation value for low expenditure of resources.

Annual grant reports of funded projects are available upon request from PIRO OMID (Scott.Bloom@noaa.gov) as all final grant reports are housed within www.grants.gov.