Southeast Region Protected Resources Division Caribbean Field Office

Southeast Region Protected Resources Division Caribbean Field Office Dr. Lisamarie Carrubba November 2009

Endangered Species Act (ESA) • Activities include – Status reviews for listing, delisting, changes in listing, recovery planning and implementation – Section 6 partnerships with states and territories – Section 7 consultations – Section 9 (through Office of Law Enforcement) – Section 10 permits, conservation agreements

Regulatory Aspect • Review of proposed water resources development projects to determine whether projects will adversely affect NMFS’ trust resources • Section 7 consultation process large part of this in partnership with U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Section 7 • Consultation required for projects with a federal nexus, including – Federal funds – Federal agency as proponent – Federal permit requirement (such as for fill in wetlands, construction of in-water structures, waste discharges, dredging, etc. ) or licensing requirement (such as FERC for hydropower) • Most commonly COE and EPA consult on actions • Trainings for federal agencies regarding the consultation process and section 7(a)(1) responsibilities • Partner with PR and USVI agencies

Listed Sea Turtles • Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) endangered • Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) – threatened (in U. S. Caribbean) • Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) – endangered • Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) threatened D. Shea M. Sharer S. Benson M. Guiliano

Sea Turtle Designated Critical Habitat • 3 nm around Sandy Point, Saint Croix - leatherback • 3 nm around Culebra and its surrounding islands and cays - green • 3 nm Mona and Monito Islands - hawksbill

Listed Marine Mammals • Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) – Endangered • Fin (or finback) whale (B. physalus) – Endangered • Humpback whale (Megaptera novaengliae) – Endangered • Sei whale (B. borealis) – Endangered • Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) – Endangered

Threatened Corals • Staghorn and elkhorn corals listed as threatened in 2006 • 4(d) rule establishing “take” prohibitions went into effect on November 21, 2008 • Designated critical habitat final rule went into effect on December 26, 2008 Exceptions to CH: man-made structures, maintained channels, and existing marinas E. Otero

NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program • Caribbean Field Office houses SERO Coordinator for CRCP • Projects in FL, PR, and USVI through SERO PRD and Field Offices in Puerto Rico and West Palm Beach • Efforts focus on education and outreach, coral reef ecosystem restoration, and strengthening of management efforts for coral reef ecosystem protection

CRCP Partnerships • Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park hurricane moorings and promoting awareness regarding anchoring regulations • Comite de los Vecinos de La Parguera – special use buoys in shallow seagrass beds and laminated sheet for recreational boaters • Caborrojeños – Coral Reef Atlas for Cabo Rojo • UPRM, Marine Sciences – integrating current studies in coral reef characterization to locate important reef fish habitat

CRCP Partnerships • DNER, CFMC, PRDA, DPNR DFW and DEE, UVI, Sea Grant, FURA, USCG, OLE – workshops for commercial and recreational fishers in PR and USVI and creation of educational materials targeting fishers; workshops for law enforcement officers, field and classroom training, and educational materials • DNER, DPNR – MPA protection (habitat use characterization; moorings, markers, special use buoys; educational materials; restoration

CRCP Partnerships • PR Tourism Company, PR National Parks Company – educational materials for tourists and signs at public beaches • Vieques Conservation and Historic Trust – interactive educational exhibit • St. Croix Environmental Association – marine learning modules and mobile learning lab • DPNR DFW – revision of commercial fishing regs and creation of recreational fishing regs; gill and trammel net buy-back

CRCP Partnerships • Sociedad Ambiente Marino – establishment of monofilament fishing line recycling program • 4 -H Club, Geo. Ambiente – animated lessons for elementary schools • Coastal Municipalities in PR, COE, FWS, EPA, DPNR, DNER, PRPB, EQB, USCG, VI Small Business – guidelines for coastal development • CFMC, OLE, DNER, TSA, USDA, Customs and Border Patrol, American Airlines Latitudes magazine, Continental magazine, Royal Caribbean, VINE, SEA, CS Agent – Caribbean Reef Etiquette video and education efforts to curb illegal souvenir collection

Other CRCP Efforts • Bilingual videos and PSAs for grouper conservation, coral reef and associated habitat conservation for PR and USVI; Aventuras Marinas con NOAA segment on Turismo en Borinquen program in PR • Bilingual scientific permitting requirements for researchers in Puerto Rico working in coral reef ecosystem • Bilingual coral reef ecosystem coloring book for elementary schools and bilingual CD for high schools in PR and USVI • Bilingual guide for recreational users of the coral reef ecosystem

Other SERO Presence in PR and USVI • Office of Law Enforcement – agents in Guaynabo and Aguadilla – enforcement of laws that protect and regulate our living marine resources and their habitat (Magnuson-Stevens, ESA, Marine Mammal Protection Act, Lacey Act); joint enforcement agreements in PR and USVI • Restoration Center – fund and implement restoration projects and evaluate success, engage the local community; participates in the NOAA CRCP; contractor position for grounding response in PR and USVI

Major Issues • Lack of data on sea turtle nesting and sea turtles in the water (various life stages, habitat utilization, whether designated CH is adequate) • Recovery plan process on-going for listed corals • Petition from CBD to list 83 species of corals, 8 of which are in our region • Vessel grounding impacts to reefs – far more common than anticipated so what are cumulative impacts? • Souvenir collection of corals • Coastal development – BMPs, including in response to climate change and listed species conservation

For More Information • Southeast Regional Office: http: //sero. nmfs. noaa. gov • Protected Resources: http: //sero. nmfs. noaa. gov/pr/pr. htm • Acropora Coordinator: Jennifer Moore (Jennifer. Moore@noaa. gov, 727 -824 -5312) • NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program: http: //coralreef. noaa. gov/