Wildlife Care, Conservation, and Research Fund

The Aquarium’s Wildlife Care, Conservation, and Research Fund (WCCR) Fund was launched in fulfillment of the Aquarium’s mission to support wildlife conservation in 2013. Projects funded through WCCR all focus on species in the Aquarium’s living collection or the habitats that support these species. Through the WCCR Fund, the Aquarium has provided much-needed help to a number of researchers and conservationists who aim to save important species, primarily from the Gulf of Mexico and Western Caribbean Sea. WCCR funds are typically distributed among a variety of different projects to maximize and diversify their impact.

In 2018,  more than $74,000 in grants from their 2018 Wildlife Care, Conservation and Research (WCCR) Fund will be directed to support vital wildlife research and conservation projects.

This year’s fund will support the work of scientists that are tracking green sea turtles, studying harmful diseases in Kemp’s ridley sea turtles, monitoring Texas coastal sport fisheries and following the movements of tagged sharks, among other projects.

Recipients of the 2018 WCCR Fund include the following:

Padre Island National Seashore

Documentation, Protection, and Tracking of Nesting Adult Green Sea Turtles in Texas to Aid with Management Efforts

Principal Investigator: Dr. Donna Shaver

Funds Awarded: $18,625

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Harbor Branch

Fibropapillomatosis in Kemp’s ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys kempii)

Principal Investigator: Dr. Annie Page-Karjian

Funds Awarded: $19,522

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University of Texas Marine Science Institute

Monitoring the Heart of Texas Coastal Sportfisheries: Using Advanced Technologies to understand environmental drivers of fish abundance and productivity in Channel Passes

Principal Investigator: Dr. Brad Erisman

Funds Awarded: $17,000

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Saving our Sharks

Spatial movements of tagged sharks in the Isla Mujeres fishing areas, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Principal Investigator: Dr. Jaime Gonzalez

Funds Awarded: $19,400

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