Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Grants

NOAA’s Fisheries Service has announced $12.6 million in grants through the Protected Species Cooperative Conservation Grant Program to assist 19 states and territories with conservation projects designed to recover marine mammals, sea turtles, fish, coral and other species listed under the Endangered Species Act.

Several proposals selected during the fiscal year 2010 grant cycle will help fish populations including:

Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife ($1,019,486): To determine habitat requirements and migratory pathways to provide managers with essential information to recover Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon in Delaware, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Maine Department of Marine Resources ($315,330): To determine spatial distribution, key habitat, and movement patterns of shortnose and Atlantic sturgeon among Maine rivers and nearby states to inform management and recovery actions.

Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks ($297,714): To identify feeding habitat for and movement of juvenile and sub-adult Gulf sturgeon in the state’s Pascagoula River estuary.

New York Department of Environmental Conservation ($1,325,437): To collaborate with Maine, Connecticut and New Jersey partners in determining Atlantic sturgeon habitat use and movement throughout the Mid-Atlantic Bight and evaluating spatial strategies to minimize Atlantic sturgeon bycatch.

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources ($1,800,800): To determine shortnose and Atlantic sturgeon movements and habitat use with North Carolina partners to inform regional conservation efforts.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife ($576,668): To collaborate with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in tracking coast-wide status and trends of green sturgeon and managing human caused impacts to the species.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife ($561,579): Working with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to monitor eulachon smelt abundance and distribution and evaluate fishing techniques to reduce smelt bycatch.