National Sea Grant Archives

$400K in federal funds may help open new markets for Maine aquaculture

February 9, 2021 — A research project looking at new and underserved markets for Maine’s aquaculture industry has been awarded $400,499 in federal funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Sea Grant program.

The award, announced Friday, will go to the Maine Sea Grant, according to a news release.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has had a tremendous negative impact on all seafood producers,” said Sebastian Belle, the association’s executive director. “The work that will be done in this project will be critical in helping our members adapt to and recover from the challenges they are facing.”

The award will support the research of potential new and underserved markets for Maine-grown aquaculture products, and will fund efforts to seek partnerships between aquaculture and wild capture supply chains.

“Maine’s aquaculture industry has undergone significant growth and diversification in recent years, creating new jobs and economic opportunities in our state,” U.S. Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in a joint statement.

Read the full story at MaineBiz

North Carolina Sea Grant accepting 2021 fellowship applications

December 7, 2020 — Local graduate students have an opportunity to apply for a 2021 fellowship with federal fisheries managers.

N.C. Sea Grant is accepting applications from North Carolina grad students for the 2021 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries/National Sea Grant College Program fellowships.

The opportunity is open to U.S. citizens who are doctoral students in academic institutions in the U.S. and its territories. The program provides real-world experience. Each fellow must work with a mentor from NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service, who may serve on the fellow’s committee.

Applications are due to NCSG by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17.

Two categories of this joint fellowship are available, population and ecosystem dynamics and marine resource economics. This year, there is a single federal opportunity for both categories, and applicants must follow updated instructions to identify their concentration.

Read the full story at the Carteret County News-Times

Sharks and tuna will be the focus of UMaine research grant

October 8, 2019 — Commercially valuable tuna, swordfish, sharks and other “highly migratory species” will be the focus of research to be conducted by a consortium that includes the University of Maine.

The consortium was awarded $1.6 million by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, according to a news release.

The funds came through NOAA’s 2019 Sea Grant Highly Migratory Species Research Initiative.

The study will focus on the life histories of highly migratory species in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. It’s expected the research will help contribute to better management of the species.

The new research consortium, called the Pelagic Ecosystem Research Consortium or PERC, is led by Walt Golet at the University of Maine.

Read the full story at MaineBiz

University of Maine receives grant for marine species research

October 7, 2019 — The University of Maine has been awarded $1.6 million to help research Atlantic Marine Species.

The grant is made possible from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Sea Grant College Program.

The funds will support a research project on tuna and shark species in the Gulf of Mexico and the Northwest Atlantic Ocean.

Data researches hope to collect includes growth, age, and migratory behavior.

Maine’s Congressional Delegation made the following statements:

“Maine’s coastal communities depend on Highly Migratory Species fisheries as an economic engine, sustaining and creating jobs as well as driving coastal tourism and recreation year after year,” said Senator Collins. “In order to better understand and maintain the health of HMS fisheries, more research is needed. This funding will assist researchers at UMaine as they work with partner institutions to fill the knowledge gaps about the history and biology of HMS fisheries.”

Read the full story at WABI

Bill that would fund Maine lobster industry advances

October 4, 2019 — Federal legislation that supports Maine’s lobster industry and fisheries, as well as the National Sea Grant Program and other aquaculture research efforts, has passed the Senate Appropriations Committee.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, a senior member of the committee, said in a news release that it advanced the FY2020 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies funding bill by a vote of 31-0.

“Additionally, this bill supports ongoing efforts to solve the conflicting conservation measures between American and Canadian fisheries and ensure that Maine lobstermen are not unfairly targeted by regulations intended to protect the fragile right whale population.”

Read the full story at MaineBiz

Senate panel approves marine research funding that Trump wanted to kill

October 4, 2019 — The Senate Appropriations Committee has unanimously approved funding increases to several federal programs critical to Maine’s coastal communities, including ones President Trump had repeatedly proposed eliminating.

The committee approved the fiscal year 2020 budget bill for the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Justice and related science agencies, including provisions to boost funding for the National Sea Grant program by $7 million to $75 million, with $2 million allocated to support research on lobsters and herring (which lobstermen use as bait), and how the rapid warming of the Gulf of Maine affects them. This follows the $2 million awarded from Sea Grant’s fiscal year 2019 budget to lobster researchers at the University of Maine, the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve and other institutions.

“These investments will help us to better understand how the lobster stock is reacting to changing environmental conditions and ensure that Maine’s iconic industry that supports thousands of jobs continues to thrive,” Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said Thursday in a statement announcing the 31-0 vote. “As a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, I fought to include these provisions, and I am pleased that they were incorporated in the final package.”

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Here’s how $1.4M in NOAA grants will be used to help Maine’s fishing industry

October 25, 2018 — Sea lice infestation costs the salmon aquaculture industry an estimated at $15 million annually in the United States and $740 million globally — and remains the greatest barrier to continuing and expanding salmon aquaculture in the oceans.

That’s the industry context underscoring the relevance of the $725,365 grant awarded to a University of Maine team to study potential new treatments for sea lice infestation.

The grant is one of two to UMaine that were announced recently by National Sea Grant College, a program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Both projects are expected to further advance the development of a sustainable marine and coastal aquaculture industry in the United States, according to a NOAA news release.

Heather Hamlin, Deborah Bouchard and Ian Bricknell of UMaine’s Aquaculture Research Institute will research an integrated approach to addressing sea lice control in the commercial culture of Atlantic salmon in sea pens. The project will address gaps in knowledge of sea lice biology and control methods, such as integrated pest management, and new, ecologically sensitive chemical compounds and their effects on nontarget species, such as lobsters.

Read the full story at MaineBiz

Rep. Zeldin Announces $182,000 Grant for New York Sea Grant Program

October 19, 2018 — Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1), co-chair of the bipartisan Long Island Sound Caucus and member of the Congressional Shellfish Caucus, announced today that New York State Sea Grant has been awarded $182,000 in federal funding by the NOAA National Sea Grant Program. This funding will be used to support the seafood and aquaculture industry, as well as to foster relationships between the industry and next generation of fishermen and other seafood professionals. New York Sea Grant (NYSG) is headquartered at SUNY Stony Brook in New York’s First Congressional District.

Congressman Zeldin said, “New York Sea Grant is a critical program that provides resources to our local anglers and businesses, and this federal funding will help them carry out this important mission. Their vital work helps preserve and support our local fishing industry. With 90% of consumed American seafood imported, we must ensure Long Island fishermen and shellfish farmers have access to the resources they need to sustain and grow their businesses.”

Interim Director of the New York Sea Grant Program Katherine Bunting-Howarth JD PhD said, “NYSG is pleased to partner on a project that promotes sustainable and healthy seafood—seafood that is produced in a manner that protects the environment, invigorates the economy and provides a vital source of protein for our diets.”

National Sea Grant and this $182,000 grant was funded through $72.5 million in federal funding, which Congressman Zeldin helped secure by leading a bipartisan effort of 95 Members of Congress.

Read the full story at LongIsland.com