2004 General Coral Reef Conservation Awards
The General Coral Reef Conservation Program is a matching grants program within the broader NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Grant Program authorized by the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000. The program funds coral reef conservation projects that are consistent with the goals of the Act and the National Action Plan to Conserve Coral Reefs. In 2004, NOAA provided $505,548 to support universities, and non-governmental organizations for projects that preserved, sustained and restored coral reef ecosystems, promoted wise management and sustainable use, developed sound scientific information about coral reef resources, or increased public awareness. Thirteen awards were made under the General Coral Reef Conservation Program leveraging a total of $614,062.
Preserve, Sustain, and Restore Coral Reef Resources
- Malama Kai Foundation is building on a previously funded project
to promote community involvement in coral reef conservation
at Milolii, in south Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii. Malama
Kai is: 1) training community members to monitor coral reef
resources by working with the Department of Aquatic Resources
and Sea Grant; 2) working with enforcement officers to train
local community members to record human use activity, report
violations, discourage violations, and educate fishers about
management regulations; 3) involving youth in monitoring programs
and in collecting traditional management knowledge from elders;
and 4) developing and proposing new regulations to enhance management.
- The University of Rhode Island (URI) is examining past and present shark fisheries in the U.S. Virgin Islands including an assessment of current species composition and abundance, identification of shark nurseries, and assessment of degrees to which the nurseries are protected by current management of marine resources. This project includes an examination of catch records and literature, interviews with fishermen and fisheries agencies, and longline surveys.
Promote Wise Management and Sustainable Use
- The Marine Aquarium Council (MAC) is working with marine aquarium
stake holders on the Island of Oahu in the State of Hawaii,
especially with the industry and the State, to promote wise
management and sustainable use of coral reef resources. MAC
is: 1) building awareness of management alternatives through
multi-stakeholder consultations and outreach; 2) undertaking
resource assessments and analysis of collection sites; and 3)
facilitating marine aquarium fish collectors and companies to
understand and achieve MAC Certification for "best practices."
- The International Marinelife Alliance (IMA) in partnership
with the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Enewetak Atoll
community is utilizing community-based fishery management planning
and government observer training to help control a destructive
live reef food fish operation that is harvesting tens of thousands
of groupers and Napoleon wrasse from the coral reefs in the
remote northern atolls of the Marshall Islands. IMA is working
with the community to develop a management plan and regulations
for the live reef food fish operation and a funding plan for
boosting observer coverage. IMA is also working with the local
resource agency to improve data collection and monitoring of
this industry.
- Consultores Educativos Ambientales, C.S.P in collaboration
with Puerto Rico's Department of Natural and Environmental Resources
is developing a management plan for the La Cordillera Reef Natural
Reserve through a series of pubic meetings and field visits
to asses stakeholder utilization of the reserve.
- Surfrider Foundation is facilitating the development of a management plan for the Reserva Marina Tres Palmas in Puerto Rico. Surfrider has identified a leading coral reef researcher for Puerto Rico with management plan development experience to assist in the development of the plan, which will be integrated in to Surfrider's on-going outreach and education activities with the local community. Surfrider is also developing a water quality monitoring program that can be coordinated with the needs identified in the management plan.
Improve the Use of Marine Protected Areas
- The University of Guam is assessing the effectiveness of Pohnpei's
site based marine protected areas in protecting reproductively
active fishes and provide recommendations from the findings
to enhance current MPA designs and future designs. The investigation
focuses on two commercially relevant groupers that co-occur
at spawning aggregations sites throughout the Pacific. The principle
investigator is using a conventional and acoustic tag-and-recapture
techniques to evaluate the vulnerability of reproductively active
grouper to the fishery by examining sex specific differences
in residency times and patterns of movement to aggregation sites.
The principle investigator is also comparing the relative contribution
by individuals within a single aggregation month to the entire
spawning season.
- Washington State University Vancouver is evaluating the role
of habitat and life history characteristics of ornamental reef
fishes in an existing Hawaii marine protected area network on
the west coast of the Big Island of Hawaii. The results of this
project will increase our understanding of the ecological processes
governing assemblages, distribution, and movement coral reef
fish and will aid in designation and implementation of marine
protected areas as a fisheries management tool. The principle
investigators is using a combination of NOAA's archived remote
sensing data, the West Hawaii Aquarium Project bathymetry data,
and in-situ geographically referenced meso-scale underwater
video to evaluate, map, and assess fish-habitat associations
and patterns within this marine protected area network.
- The University of Miami is conducting a socioeconomic study
to determine community expectations of and support for marine
protected area management in the offshore coral community of
the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. The principle investigator
is conducting interviews, field surveys, and general questionnaires
to gather information, which will identify strategies that can
be used to maximize coral reef and related ecosystems protection
while enabling community participation and support.
- The Nature Conservancy is conducting a series of activities
to increase local capacity to manage the East End Marine Park
in the U.S. Virgin Islands. These activities include education
and outreach, supporting monitoring efforts, GIS support for
land-based sources of pollution, and engagement of local fishermen
in management activities.
- The Ocean Conservancy is providing one full time staff member to the U.S. Virgin Islands Field Office, who will assist with ensuring effective management of the East End Marine Park. This staff member primarily analyzes, synthesizes, and disseminates both pre-existing and current data, pertinent to the East End Marine Park. This position fulfills a need identified in the Virgin Island's Local Action Strategy, which calls for an assistant to produce concise but compelling reports based on exist and on-going data to be used by territorial and Federal governments.
Increase Public Awareness
- Reef Education Enhancement Foundation (REEF) is expanding their education and outreach activities under the REEF Fish Survey Project by enhancing existing program and developing innovated new components. REEF is developing lesson plans and an on-line educators portal, improving training materials, and supporting event-based activities to increase participation in REEF's program and access to data.
