The maui ocean center marine institute (mocmi) proposes to implement a comprehensive sea turtle conservation program on maui, hawai'i. This initiative focuses on responding to reports of sick,…

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded a cooperative agreement totaling $180,000 to the Maui Ocean Center Marine Institute on October 1, 2025, to implement a comprehensive sea turtle conservation program on Maui, Hawaii.

MOCMI operates a sea turtle response hotline to field reports of sick, injured, or distressed animals, provides rehabilitation services, and conducts post-release tagging for monitoring. The organization also runs a fishing line recycling program, organizes beach cleanups, and delivers educational outreach designed to reduce threats to sea turtles and promote environmental stewardship in the community. The award is made under the Unallied Projects program (CFDA 11.454), which supports fisheries science, protected species conservation, and resource management in Federal, State, and U.S. territorial waters.

Performance occurs at MOCMI's location in Wailuku, Hawaii, from October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2028. The cooperative agreement structure reflects NOAA's partnership approach to building local marine conservation capacity alongside scientific data collection on sea turtle population threats and responses.

The maui ocean center marine institute (mocmi) proposes to implement a comprehensive sea turtle conservation program on maui, hawai'i. This initiative focuses on responding to reports of sick, injured, or distressed sea turtles, collecting vital data to improve understanding of threats, and implementing conservation and education programs. Mocmi manages a sea turtle response hotline, provides rehabilitation for sea turtles, and conducts tagging for post-release monitoring. Additionally, mocmi runs a fishing line recycling program, organizes beach cleanups, and offers educational outreach to reduce threats to sea turtles and promote environmental stewardship within the community.