September 9, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Many of you may have already heard about this opportunity to apply for research funds generated via the Scallop Research Set-Aside Program. If not, please see this announcement for the details and contact information.

Please forward to all interested parties – For questions, please contact Cheryl.Corbett@noaa.gov 

2016/2017 Atlantic Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program – Proposals Due October 31, 2015

NMFS, in coordination with the New England Fishery Management Council (Council), is soliciting Atlantic Sea Scallop (scallop) research proposals to utilize scallop Total Allowable Catch (TAC) that has been set-aside by the Council to fund scallop research endeavors through the 2016/2017 Atlantic Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program. No federal funds are provided for research under this notification. Rather, proceeds generated from the sale of RSA quota will be used to fund research activities and compensate vessels that participate in research activities and/or harvest set-aside quota. 

The 2016/2017 Atlantic Sea Scallop Federal Funding Opportunity is summarized below and attached, and is also available athttp://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/coopresearch/pdfs/NOAA-NMFS-NEFSC-2016-2004548-FFO-Published-Report.pdf   To apply for this NOAA Federal Funding Opportunity, go to www.grants.gov, and use the following funding opportunity #: NOAA-NMFS-NEFSC-2016-2004548.

Complete proposals/applications must be received on or before 5 p.m. EDT on 10/31/2015. Proposals received after the established deadline will be rejected and returned to the sender without consideration. For proposals submitted through www.Grants.gov, a date and time receipt indication will be the basis of determining timeliness. The proposal must be validated by Grants.gov in order to be considered timely. PLEASE NOTE: It may take Grants.gov up to two (2) business days to validate or reject the application. Please keep this in mind in developing your submission timeline. For those without access to the Internet, one signed original and two hard copy applications must be postmarked or received by the established due date for the program at the following address: Cheryl A. Corbett, NMFS, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543, ATTN: 2016/2017 Atlantic Scallop Research Set-Aside Program.

Projects funded under the Atlantic Sea Scallop RSA Program must enhance the understanding of the scallop resource or contribute to scallop fishery management decisions. Priority is given to funding research proposals addressing the below list of 2016 and 2017 Atlantic Sea Scallop Research Priorities.  Applicants responding to scallop survey priorities should be aware that 2-year survey proposals will be accepted under this competition. Additionally, such applicants are encouraged to review and consider the findings of the Scallop Survey Methodologies Peer Review, which was convened by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in March 2015. This includes efforts to increase the level of coordination between scallop survey efforts. Reports and additional information for this peer review are posted at: www.nefsc.noaa.gov/saw/scallop-2015 

2016 and 2017 Atlantic Sea Scallop Research Priorities

HIGHEST (listed in order of importance)

1. Survey Related Research (a, b, and c have equal priority)

• 1a. an intensive industry-based survey of each of the relevant scallop access areas (Closed Area I, Closed Area II, Nantucket Lightship, Delmarva, Elephant Trunk and Hudson Canyon) that will provide estimates of total and exploitable biomass to be used for setting fishery catch limits under the rotational area management program. To support these area management decisions, survey data and biomass estimates must be available by early August of the year in which the survey is conducted (e.g. survey results that would inform 2017 fishing area decisions must be available by August 2016). Areas scheduled to be open in the following fishing year generally have a higher priority than other areas. For 2016 the priority areas are likely to be: Elephant Trunk, Hudson Canyon, the access area in southern part of Closed Area II, the access area in Nantucket Lightship including the extension to the east as well as to the west within the current EFH closed area where small scallops have been observed, and to the north of the Closed Area I access area within the current EFH closed area that has known concentrations of scallops. For 2017 the priority areas are: Elephant Trunk, the access area in the southern part of Closed Area II, and the access area in Nantucket Lightship with extension to the east. If boundaries of scallop access areas change as a result of a future Council action, then applicants may be requested to adjust their survey to be consistent with new or modified access area boundaries. Additionally, applicants should note that the priority areas listed here may change based on results of 2015 surveys and/or feedback from the scallop fishing industry. Therefore, applicants may be requested to adjust their proposed survey to meet these emergent survey needs.
• 1b. an intensive industry-based survey of areas that may be candidate access areas in the future (i.e., open areas with high scallop recruitment or closed areas that may open to fishing). Examples areas include the Northern Edge of Georges Bank in and around Closed Area II, the northern part of Closed Area I that is currently part of an essential fish habitat (EFH) closed area, east and west of the Nantucket Lightship scallop Access Area, south of Closed Area II, and south of Nantucket Lightship along the 40 fathom curve to Hudson Canyon. Seasonal monitoring of candidate access areas will be considered to monitor the survival of small scallops.
• 1c. a broad, resource wide industry-based survey of scallops within Georges Bank and/or Mid-Atlantic resource areas. The survey or surveys do not need to be carried out by a single grant recipient. The primary objective of these surveys would be to provide an additional broadscale biomass index to improve the overall precision of the scallop biomass estimate produced by the Scallop Plan Development Team. Survey results must be available by early August of the year in which the survey is conducted (e.g. survey results that would inform 2017 fishing effort decisions must be available by early August 2016).

2. Bycatch research – Identification and evaluation of methods to reduce the impacts of the scallop fishery with respect to bycatch. This would include projects that determine seasonal bycatch rates, characterize spatial and temporal distribution patterns, gear modifications to reduce bycatch and avoid fishery conflicts, as well as the associated discard mortality rates of yellowtail flounder, windowpane flounder, lobster, and other key bycatch species. Research efforts should be targeted to provide results that would help the scallop industry avoid pending or potential implementation of accountability measures.

3. Scallop area management research – Such research would include, but would not be limited to, research to actively manage spat collection and seeding of sea scallops; and research aimed at describing the occurrence, as well as understanding the mechanisms, of processes that affect scallop product quality (i.e., scallops with grey meats or evidence of disease/parasites).

MEDIUM (not listed in order of importance): 

4. Research on scallop predation and ways to mitigate predation impacts (e.g. starfish, crab and dogfish)

5. Research to support the investigation of loggerhead turtle behavior in the Mid-Atlantic (via satellite tagging or other means) to understand their seasonal movements, vertical habitat utilization, and how and where interactions with scallop dredge gear are occurring. This includes monitoring of scallop dredge and scallop trawl operations, and the development of further gear modifications if monitoring should indicate current designs are not eliminating the threat or harm to sea turtles or are resulting in unacceptable reductions in scallop catch.

OTHER (not listed in order of importance):

6. Habitat characterization research including (but not limited to): before after control impact (BACI) dredge studies; identification of nursery and over-wintering habitats of species that are vulnerable to habitat alteration by scallop fishing; evaluation of long-term or chronic effects of scallop fishing on the ecosystem; and habitat recovery potential from fine scale fishing effort. In particular, projects that would evaluate present and candidate EFH closures to assess whether these areas are accomplishing their stated purposes and to assist better definition of the complex ecosystem processes that occur in these areas. Finally, investigation of variability in dredging efficiency across habitats, times, areas, and gear designs to allow for more accurate quantitative estimates of scallop dredge impacts on the seabed and development of practicable methods to minimize or mitigate those impacts. 

7. Research projects designed to either 1) examine whether chemicals, water quality, and other environmental stressors affect reproduction and growth of scallops (e.g. jet fuel, pesticides, ocean acidification, etc.); or 2) research other scallop biology projects, including studies aimed at understanding recruitment processes (reproduction, timing of spawning, larval and early post-settlement stages), and seasonal growth patterns of scallop shell height and meat and gonad weight (which could include analysis of Northeast Fisheries Science Center archived scallop shells from the 1980s and 1990s).

8. Discard mortality of scallops. The assumed discard mortality rate used in the scallop stock assessment is very uncertain. Research that would improve the understandings of discard mortality and refine the assumed discard mortality rate would be useful, especially if projects are able to assess variability due to habitat, season, and gears, as well as the magnitude scallops discarded at sea and not landed due to scallop meat quality issues.

9. Incidental mortality of scallops. The assumed incidental mortality rate used in the scallop stock assessment is very uncertain. Research that would evaluate the effect of the four inch rings and mesh twine tops on incidental mortality would be useful.

10. Other resource surveys to expand and/or enhance survey coverage in areas that have the potential to be important resource areas, but which currently lack comprehensive survey coverage (e.g. inshore areas east of the current NOAA Fisheries survey strata or deeper than the surveyed area, Northern Gulf of Maine resource, etc.).

11. Develop methodologies or alternative ways for the scallop fleet to collect and analyze catch and bycatch data on a near real-time basis (i.e., collection of scallop meat weight and quality data, specific bycatch information, etc. Potential ideas include, but are not limited to: concepts like a scallop “Study Fleet”, electronic monitoring, dockside monitors, scallop bag tags, etc.)

For questions on this or any other RSA Program, please contact Cheryl.Corbett@noaa.gov or visit www.nefsc.noaa.gov/coopresearch/rsa_program.html

Read the Scallop RSA FFO here