$500,000 available to support sea turtle stranding response and rehabilitation
by NOAA Fisheries 7 May 2023 18:46 BST
A stranding responder measures a stranded loggerhead sea turtle on a Florida beach © Florida Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network
New federal funds will be available through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for organizations involved in sea turtle stranding response and rehabilitation.
NOAA Fisheries will provide $500,000 to support institutions and organizations in the United States and U.S. Territories that provide sea turtle stranding response and/or rehabilitation. Authorized federal, state, and permitted private partners cooperatively respond to reports of stranded sea turtles. These partners collect valuable information to inform causes of sea turtle strandings and rehabilitate ill or injured turtles for reintroduction into the wild. We coordinate these stranding networks nationally and regionally and closely work with participating organizations.
"Stranding responders collect important information that helps us understand key threats to sea turtles," said Kim Damon-Randall, director of the NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources. "We greatly appreciate the hard work and dedication of our partners, which supports the conservation and recovery of these threatened and endangered species."
NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources plans to work through a cooperative agreement with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to administer these funds. The Foundation expects to release a request for proposals to include this stranding response and rehabilitation priority under their Sea Turtles Program later this summer, for awards in spring 2024.
All six sea turtle species found within U.S. and territorial waters are listed under the Endangered Species Act. Stranding response and rehabilitation organizations help educate the public about sea turtle conservation. They collect scientific data and provide humane care and treatment of stranded animals. The federal funding provided through this program will help support these important efforts.