Sea Turtle, Dolphin Requests For Proposals Open

MOBILE, BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. — Requests for proposals for “Social Science Studies on Public Perception of Alabama’s Sea Turtle and Estuarine Bottlenose Dolphin Populations” and “Fishery Science Studies to Characterize the Extent of Sea Turtle and Bottlenose Dolphin Interactions with Alabama’s Commercial and Recreational Hook-and-Line Fishing Vessels” are open through May 13 at noon. Both Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources projects share the overall goal of developing and implementing response activities that provide resiliency and sustainability, taking into account the habitat’s ecological needs. The sea turtle project aims to reduce human activities and behaviors that harm sea turtles in state waters and beaches. The dolphin project will attempt to reduce human-induced injury and mortality in Alabama’s bottlenose dolphins by conducting social science and fishery studies to characterize interactions with commercial and recreational hook-and-line fishing vessels and pier and shore anglers, understand the nature and extent of illegal feeding and negative human/dolphin interactions, and document the attitudes and perceptions of different groups of people toward dolphins and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.