The national coral keef management fellowship program will place a coral fellow in each of four jurisdictions

Nova Southeastern University, Inc. received a $255,000 Project Grant from the Department of the Interior's Office of Insular Affairs under the Economic, Social, and Political Development of the Territories program (CFDA 15.875), awarded November 6, 2025, with a completion date of September 30, 2029. The National Coral Reef Management Fellowship Program will place coral management fellows in four U.S. jurisdictions—American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands—to strengthen local agency capacity in coral reef restoration and invasive species management.

The program delivers professional fellowship placements and technical support within each jurisdiction's coral reef management agency. Each fellow will work under the supervision of a local agency mentor who guides their transition and project execution. The fellowship design provides flexibility to address the distinct coral management and policy priorities of each participating jurisdiction, thereby building sustained technical capacity in both coral restoration and invasive species control across the four insular territories.

Abstract

American samoa, guam, U.S. Virgin islands (USVI) and commonwealth of the northern mariana islands (CNMI). The coral fellows will work in the local jurisdictional agencies responsible for managing coral reefs and each will be assigned a supervisor who will help them transition into the agency, as well as help guide their project work. The program is designed to be flexible to adapt and meet the individual coral management and policy needs of each jurisdiction. The program will also provide needed capacity in the four jurisdictions in both coral reef restoration and related invasive species management.