February 20, 2026 — Sea Grant programs nationwide are entering 2026 with stable federal funding and new investments aimed squarely at fisheries research, aquaculture, and coastal resilience.
In the funding bill passed by Congress and signed by the president in Jan. 2026, the NOAA budget included $80 million for the Sea Grant program and $14 million for Sea Grant aquaculture, which is equivalent to the funding provided in fiscal year 2024.
Alaska Sea Grant, like other state programs, submits four-year omnibus proposals to the National Sea Grant program for core funding. The National Sea Grant program then administers those funds in accordance with proposed budgets.
The return on investment remains significant. Ginny Eckert of Alaska Sea Grant said in an email to National Fisherman, “The $94M provided to Sea Grant in 2024 resulted in $1.59B in economic impact.”
Fisheries and aquaculture are one of the four focus areas of Sea Grant in Alaska and nationally. Other focus areas, such as workforce development, resilient communities and economies, and healthy coastal ecosystems, also directly benefit the seafood industry.
The level funding follows passage of a full year “minibus” bill that supports NOAA and EPA programs tied to ocean and coastal management. According to Surfrider, the final package rejected a proposed 55 percent cut to the EPA and the elimination of coastal management grant programs. It secured level funding for NOAA Coastal Zone Management, Coastal Management Grants, the Sea Grant College Program, and National Marine Sanctuaries, while removing provisions that would have mandated new offshore drilling and weakened the Coastal Zone Management Act.