The Protected Resources Division is responsible for the conservation, management, and protection of marine mammals and endangered and threatened species occurring in waters of the southeastern United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Protected Resources Division administers provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and Endangered Species Act (ESA) for NOAA Fisheries Service, Southeast Region.

CURRENT TOPICS The Biological Opinion on the Renewal of 12 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District General Permits The Biological Opinion on the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Savannah District - Latest Updates on the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project Reducing Incidental Bycatch and Mortality of Sea Turtles in the Southeastern Shrimp Fisheries New Allowable Turtle Excluder Devices (TED) Designs and Modifications Sea Turtle Interaction in the GOM Bottom Longline Reef Fish Fishery SPECIES Listing Petitions NOAA Proposes Listing 66 Reef-building Coral Species under the Endangered Species Act  Threatened and Endangered Species Lists Elkhorn and Staghorn Corals (Acropora) Sea Turtles Sea Turtle Strandings in the Gulf of Mexico Critical Habitat Maps and GIS Data Sturgeon Johnson's Seagrass Smalltooth Sawfish Largetooth Sawfish PROGRAMS Section 7 Consultations Fisheries Biological Opinions Permits Species of Concern Proactive Conservation Program Coral Reef Conservation Program			Bottlenose Dolphin Conservation Final Rule to Amend the Bottlenose Dolphin Take Reduction Plan for Medium Mesh Gillnets in North Carolina Right Whale Conservation Determination to Revise Right Whale Critical Habitat Marine Mammal Health & Stranding Response Marine Mammal Authorization Program (MMAP) Caribbean Monk Seal Pelagic Longline Take Reduction Plan
Protected Species in the Gulf of Mexico Slidepack Marine Debris in the Gulf of Mexico Slidepack SER Vessel Strike Avoidance and Reporting NOAA Endangered Species Act Factsheet NOAA Educational Online Game: Waterlife - Sea Turtles and the Quest to Nest NOAA' Educational Coloring Pages: Waterlife - Sea Turtles Quest to Nest (Download Adobe PDFs and print) Smalltooth Sawfish Student Activity Guide (Download Adobe PDF and print)			Albino Bottlenose Dolphin Fact Sheet Marine Mammals and Noise Fact Sheet
ESA Biological Opinion on Shrimp Trawling in the Southeastern U.S. TED (Turtle Excluder Device) Final Ruling Our Living Oceans: Report on the Status of U.S. Living Marine Resources			SER Marine Mammal Stranding Network Newsletter
The Office of Protected Resources, NOAA Fisheries Service Headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland coordinates protected resource management and research programs for the country. The NOAA Fisheries Service, Southeast Region's Habitat Conservation Division is responsible for protecting the coastal habitats important for the production of marine resources. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is also responsible for certain marine animals, including manatees, sea otters, walrus, and polar bears, and shares jurisdiction with NOAA Fisheries Service for Sea turtles and Gulf sturgeon.