The Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Program of NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO), Protected Resources Division (PRD), carries out the mandates of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and is charged
credit:
with protecting the whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals and sea turtles that occur within the Greater Atlantic Region (GAR) (Maine through Virginia).
This program includes marine mammal health and stranding response, large whale disentanglement, and sea turtle stranding and disentanglement.
To implement this program NMFS established several networks of volunteer organizations that it authorizes to respond to stranded marine mammals and sea turtles and entangled large whales and sea turtles.
NMFS seeks the submission of proposals addressing Marine Animal Entanglement Response in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
This document describes how applicants can submit and how NMFS will evaluate and recommend proposals for funding in Fiscal Year 201 7.