Final Programmatic Report Prepared For Noaa Coral Reef Conservation Program

"Ecotrust received a one-year grant of $75,810 through NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program for a project through our Marine Consulting Initiative to develop, deploy, and fieldtest an integrated technical design solution for trip ticket forms. In the fall of 2013, Ecotrust’s Marine Consulting Initiative was launched as a separate but wholly-owned subsidiary entity, Point 97, driven by the same mission: to deliver technology solutions and engagement strategies for coastal and marine planning that better connect people with place, bridge differing perspectives, and implement management decisions in an inclusive and transparent way. Point 97 works towards this mission in regions around the world through consulting, contracted services, and high-tech product development. All existing grant-funded projects will be accomplished as planned, and Point 97 will continue to partner with Ecotrust and other collaborators in future grant-funded work. With the support of this one-year NOAA CRCP award, the project team accomplished a needs assessment for an electronic catch reporting system in the Caribbean, designed the initial product, implemented three major updates to the product, and received feedback from partners to consider through the stages of development and implementation. The number of participating fishers and their submitted reports demonstrated the success of the electronic reporting system; we collected over 600 electronic catch reports from 27 fishers in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) and Puerto Rico (PR) over a period of nine months. The final Digital Deck electronic catch report system included a catch report application (mobile and desktop) and dashboards for both the fishers (mobile and desktop dashboards) and the agency fisheries managers (desktop dashboards). Throughout the project we coordinated with fishers, agency fisheries managers, and regional data managers via in-person meetings and phone conferences. Initial onsite visits enabled the project team to recruit and train cooperating fishers in collaboration with agency partners. The project team continued training and support for fishers through later site visits and regular remote communication, and worked with both fishers and agency partners to ensure that the final product fit technology preferences and data requirements. This final report details the progress made during the grant period towards approved objectives and the project results. Final grant financials have been submitted separately through the NOAA Grants Online portal, according to reporting guidelines"--Executive Summary.

In December 2003 the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program released a report to Congress on the implementation of the Coral Reef Conservation Grant Program. Progress Report: The Coral Reef Conservation Grant Program provides an overview of the program since its establishment in 2002. It also highlights the achievements of the program in each of the topic areas and provides specific geographic and substantive information on all 83 grants awarded in fiscal years 2002 and 2003. To receive a hard copy of the report, email name and mailing information to [email protected].

This document provides a concise summary of the final outcomes of a NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program project intended to mitigate fire hazard and reduce soil erosion in Hawaii's West Maui watershed.

This brief report summarizes the progress of NOAA CRCP's Maki Watch Ka'anapali, a project intended to train local volunteers to engage in coral reef monitoring and conservation activities in Hawaii.

NOAA Technical Memorandum CRCP 11. Identifies goals, objectives, and approaches to guide NOAA's research, management, and international cooperation activities on deep-sea coral and sponge ecosystems for fiscal years 2010 through 2019. Integrates research and conservation needs and is intended to be a flexible, evolving document that allows NOAA and its partners to address new management challenges and priorities as appropriate. The primary goal of this Strategic Plan is to improve the understanding, conservation, and management of deep-sea coral and sponge ecosystems.

First biennial report to Congress prepared by NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service, under the auspices of NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program, and in collaboration with other NOAA offices, to report on steps taken to identify, monitor, and protect deep sea coral areas. Includes summaries of the results of mapping, research, and data collection performed under the Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program, and presents key findings, NOAA activities and recommendations. Discusses marine protected areas designed or recommended to protect deep sea corals.

"To evaluate coastal activities and increase compliance with natural resource regulations, two trained coastal naturalists, or Kilo Kapakai, hiked the entire South Kohala coastline for a twelve-month period (August 2015-August 2016) to engage the public, record use information, and document violations. Kilo Kapakai translates to one who observes the shoreline and will be used preferentially to designate coastal naturalists for this report. Kilo Kapakai completed 16,635 surveys by repeatedly surveying 34 sites along approximately 22 miles of shoreline based on randomly stratified schedule. At each site, they obtained use 'snapshots' based upon a standard observational protocol. The entire district was surveyed approximately once per week, so the 105,360 individuals observed engaging in coastal activities in South Kohala represent a small fraction of the total number of ocean users. Over 12 months, a total of five natural resource violations were confirmed indicative of a 99.99% total compliance rate with regulations. Observed violations declined throughout the course of the project, although data based on a sample size this small should not be considered definitive. Members of the public were supportive participants in conversations about this survey and management efforts in West Hawai'i, as were local businesses, organizations, clubs, and school groups. Based on these findings, coastal natural resource managers may be encouraged by the high level of compliance with fishing rules and should find the information in this assessment useful in determining locations for interpretive signage and educational programs in South Kohala, and in considering when and where illegal activity may still be occurring. We are particularly grateful to the Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) for matching private financial support to enable successful completion of this project and to the South Kohala Coastal Partnership (SKCP), Makai Watch Program, Fairmont Orchid, KUPU Hawai'i, the Division of Conservation and Resource Enforcement (DOCARE), The Kohala Center (TKC), West Hawai'i Explorations Academy (WHEA), University of Hawai'i at Hilo (UHH) Pacific Internships Program for Exploring Science (PIPES), Marine Option Program (MOP), and Marine Science Program, Fairmont Orchid, Kohala Coast Resort Association (KCRA), and the National Parks Service (NPS) Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail (ALKA) for providing on the ground and in the water support and helping to share what was learned through the Kilo Kapakai program"--Executive Summary.