Sea Turtle Grants Program Awards $415,000 to Conservation Projects in Florida

March 30, 2021

The Sea Turtle Grants Program (STGP), funded by the sale of Florida’s “Helping Sea Turtles Survive” specialty license plate, recently awarded $415,463.82 to 26 different projects benefiting Florida sea turtles as part of the 2021-2022 grant funding cycle. Since it’s inception, the Sea Turtle License Plate Grants Program has awarded more than $6.5 million to conservation projects.

Each year, the Sea Turtle Grants Program distributes money to coastal county governments, educational and research institutions and nonprofit groups through a competitive application process. The sea turtle specialty license plate is also the primary source of funding for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Marine Turtle Protection Program.

The following organizations received grants for their approved projects for the 2021-2022 cycle:

• Florida State University: Investigating loggerhead sea turtle embryonic tolerance to wave exposure and groundwater inundation
• Inwater Research Group: Behavioral responses of green and loggerhead sea turtles to fishing gear and bycatch reduction technologies
• University of Florida – Whitney Laboratory: Health impact of near-ubiquitous plastic ingestion in Florida’s young turtles
• University of Florida – Dept. of Wildlife & Conservation: Turtle/Vessel Interactions: Observing Flight Initiation Distances of Florida Chelonia mydas in the Crystal Bay Area
• Florida State Parks Foundation: Sea Turtle Ambassador Aquarium Repair & Upgrade at MacArthur Beach State Park
• University of Central Florida: Late-Season Sea Turtle Nesting in Central and South Brevard County, Florida
• Clearwater Marine Aquarium: Stop and Look! Raising Awareness with Three Types of Educational Materials
• Sea Turtle Conservancy: Partial Funding for a Truck for In-water Research, Stranding Response and Other Programmatic Uses
• The Turtle Hospital: Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Endoscopic Equipment
• Gulf Specimen Marine Lab: Sea Turtle Educational and Interactive Exhibit
• Clearwater Marine Aquarium: Medical equipment for sea turtle rehabilitation
• Sea Turtle Preservation Society: STPS Education Center Update/Modernization
• Gulfarium C.A.R.E. Foundation: C.A.R.E. Sea Turtle Hospital Digital Radiography
• University of Central Florida: Connecting Sea Turtle Health and Ecology on the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge
• Loggerhead Marinelife Center: Establishing baseline demographics and health of a globally important loggerhead rookery: Year 2
• Gulfarium C.A.R.E. Foundation: C.A.R.E. Chillers for Rehabilitation Habitats
• Florida State Parks Foundation: Lighting the Way for Sea Turtles at Sebastian Inlet State Park
• University of Central Florida: Molecular Identification of Sea Turtle Diet Items using Colon Swab DNA
• The Florida Aquarium: Sea Turtle Transportation Vehicle for The Florida Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Program
• Escambia County BOCC: Escambia County Sea Turtle Conservation Program Capacity Building to reduce the impact of artificial light on nesting and hatchling sea turtles
• Florida State University: Caught on Camera: The Secret Lives and Foraging Behaviors of Loggerhead Turtles in Florida’s Big Bend
• Stella Maris Environmental Research: Expanding sea turtle conservation on Brevard south beaches: Lighting effects on hatchling orientation
• The Turtle Hospital: Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Anesthesia Machine
• Mote Marine Lab: CO2 Surgical Laser for the Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Hospitals at Mote Marine Laboratory
• Gulf World Marine Institute: Expansion of Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Capacity
• Marine Environmental Education Center at the Carpenter House: Sea Turtle Threats Educational Display

The sea turtle plate is the number three overall selling specialty tag in Florida, and the number one environmental specialty plate. By purchasing the sea turtle specialty license plate, Floridians are voluntarily funding important programs to save endangered sea turtles and their habitats.

To learn more about the Sea Turtle Grants Program and the “Helping Sea Turtles Survive” specialty license plate, please visit www.helpingseaturtles.org.

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