Inwater Group Research Inc

Programs: Irg receives a grant from florida power & light co to rescue sea turtles trapped in power plant cooling canals. Thousands of sea turtles are captured by irg annually. Turtles are measured, weighed, tagged and examined for impact due to power plant operations before they are safely released back into the ocean. Data collected as part of this project are provided to and used by the national marine fisheries service, u. S. Fish and wildlife service and florida fish and wildlife service to track population trends of sea turtles on the east coast of fla. Irg publishes this data in scientific journals and presents findings each year at the international sea turtle symposium. As part of this project, irg conducts sea turtle nesting surveys. Irg also conducts public sea turtle walks during june and july, providing education on sea turtles and sea turtle conservation.

irg has smaller projects involving sea turtle education, nesting, measurement, monitoring and tagging. These projects are funded by public corporations, state, federal and local organizations. The programs are: the brevard zoo, gulf of mexico alliance-goma, hawks channel (big green turtles), the fpl turtle tank, st lucie power plant, big bend, sea turtle grant program, lake worth lagoon program, palm beach county, key west national wildlife refuge, and coastal conservation program. Irg provides information obtained in these various programs for the further protection of sea turtles through technical papers and conferences.

irg is contracted by the university of central florida in concert with the national marine fisheries service, nmfs, a division of the national oceanic and atmospheric administration, noaa, to monitor critical habitats for sea turtles in florida and the gulf of mexico. This is performed by monitoring nesting habitats and through tagging programs to satellite tag and monitor sea turtle migratory activities. Under the endangered species act (esa) noaa is responsible to administer and designate critical habitats of endangered species. Loggerhead sea turtles have been added to the endangered species list since 1978. In 2011 the endangered species list was revised to identify distinct population segments (dps) under u. S. Jurisdiction. Florida coastal areas along the atlantic ocean and gulf of mexico are part of the noaa dps.