Funding Available For N. Atlantic Right Whales The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Office are pleased to announce two sources of funding for N. Atlantic right whale research and recovery efforts. 1) Right Whale Research Program (expansion of 'whale-safe gear' program) - Program focuses on the following two management areas. Please see RFP for expanded priorities and information on targeted data-gaps. http://www.nfwf.org/programs/whale_gear.cfm A. Project funding priorities for gear investigation and testing to reduce death and/or serious injury due to entanglements are: * Research related to reducing risk associated with vertical lines. * Research related to lowering the profile of groundlines. * Research the profile of gillnet and trap/pot gear in the water column in various habitats and conditions. * Develop technology for producing knotless splices. B. Proposals will also be accepted for projects that address right whale biological needs to support the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan. * Research on distribution of right whales in the water column throughout their range in US waters. * Information on the temporal and spatial distribution of right whales. * Research on the vertical distributions of processes and prey organisms related to right whale foraging. * Develop technical advances/improvements for disentanglement including sedatives and tools. * Research on the development of long-term tracking tags suitable for deployment with minimal health risks. 2) Atlantic Coast States Cooperative Planning for Right Whale Recovery (proposals must come from states and be state/federal partnerships) - program focuses on rw recovery through the development or implementation of recovery plan tasks. The RFP provides specific information on this year's priorities for funding, below is a summary. http://www.nfwf.org/programs/whale_right.cfm * Vessel strike mitigation; * Enforcement as it applies to individual or cooperative states; * Right whale research to support the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan; * Gear investigation and testing to reduce death and/or serious injury due to entanglement; * Disentanglement activities which will reduce mortality and/or serious injury of entangled whales; and * Education and outreach programs to facilitate reduction of gear interactions. Applications are due on April 5th for both programs. Please see the RFPs for application information. Michelle Pico pico@nfwf.org Michelle Pico Federal Manager for NOAA Programs National Fish and Wildlife Foundation ph: (262) 695-0462 pico@nfwf.org