Endangered Species Day
Art Contest Winner: Julia Paccone, Manchester Essex High School

Comment on Our Actions

04/29/2013: Proposed List of Fisheries for 2013 reflects new information on interactions between commercial fisheries and marine mammals through 05/22/2013
04/29/2013: Proposed IHA for Navy Training Conducted at the Silver Strand Training Complex, San Diego Bay through 05/24/2013

Scientific Research Permit Applications Currently Open for Comment, ongoing

More Actions Currently Open for Comment

Welcome to the Office of Protected Resources

The Office of Protected Resources (OPR) is a headquarters program office of NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries Service, or NMFS), under the U.S. Department of Commerce, with responsibility for protecting marine mammals and endangered/threatened marine life.

NOAA's Office of Protected Resources works to conserve, protect, and recover species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) in conjunction with our Regional Offices, Science Centers, and various partners.

Recent News and Hot Topics

05/17/2013: NOAA Celebrates Endangered Species Day
05/16/2013: Feeding or Harassing Marine Mammals in the Wild is Illegal and Harmful to the Animals
05/16/2013: 90-day finding on petition to list the Pacific harbor seals in Iliamna Lake; status review initiated and request for scientific and commercial information on Pacific harbor seals in Iliamna Lake through 07/16/2013
05/16/2013: 90-day finding on dusky shark petitions; status review initiated and request for scientific and commercial information on the NW Atlantic dusky shark population through 07/16/2013
05/12/2013: Updated data on increase in sea turtle strandings in the Gulf of Mexico
05/12/2013: Updated data on dolphin/ whale (Cetacean) Unusual Mortality Event in Northern Gulf of Mexico
05/08/2013: Proposed MMPA 101a(5)(E) Permit for the California thresher shark/ swordfish drift gillnet (DGN) fishery (>14 inch mesh) and the WA/OR/CA sablefish pot fishery
05/02/2013: EPA posts to their docket NOAA Fisheries' draft Endangered Species Act Section 7 Consultation Conference and Biological Opinion on the registration of three insecticides
04/30/2013: National Academy of Sciences publishes recommendations on assessing risk of pesticides to threatened and endangered species
04/25/2013: 90-day finding on great hammerhead petitions; status review initiated and request for scientific and commercial information on great hammerhead sharks through 06/25/2013
04/25/2013: 90-day finding on petition to include Lolita in ESA listing of Southern Resident Killer Whales; request for information about Lolita's genetic heritage and status through 06/28/2013
04/22/2013: Proposed List of Fisheries for 2013 reflects new information on interactions between commercial fisheries and marine mammals

» Hot Topics Archive