Marine Ventures International, Inc. (MVI) was awarded a contract by Norfolk Dredging Company to conduct coastal shorebird monitoring and turbidity monitoring during the 2018 Pinellas County Shore Protection Project in southwest Florida. Norfolk Dredging was selected by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to construct the project, scheduled to begin in April 2018.

MVI is providing qualified bird monitors to conduct daily monitoring for all beach-nesting seabirds and shorebirds within the project boundaries, prior to and during construction phases of the project. Specific bird surveys are also being conducted by MVI’s experienced monitors for piping plovers and rufa red knot, two federally threatened species that may inhabit portions of the project area. In addition, MVI’s experienced turbidity monitoring team will collect daily water samples in the field at specified depths within background locations up-current of the project area and pre-determined distances down-current of the discharge point of the dredge. Discrete sampling will occur three times daily, a minimum of 4 hours apart, and samples will be analyzed for turbidity levels to determine compliance with State of Florida permit conditions and established turbidity limits. MVI is a State of Florida registered Small Business.

Marine Ventures International, Inc. (MVI) is a registered Small Business providing high quality, marine environmental and technical personnel for coastal and offshore field operations and data acquisition in the US and worldwide. MVI provides services to a variety of sectors from international submarine fiber optic cable systems to providing Subject Matter Experts for complex environmental challenges, as well as conducting coastal mapping, monitoring, and mitigation for sensitive marine habitats and protected species.