NOAA Federal Funding Opportunity – Aquaculture

Jan 28, 2014 | News

NOAA Sea Grant is announcing a new competition for research projects related to aquaculture.  The funding of aquaculture research is part of the overall plan to support the development of environmentally and economically sustainable ocean, coastal or Great Lakes aquaculture.

Priorities for the 2014 competition are:

  1. Research to inform pending, regulatory decisions on the local, state or federal level leading to an information product, such as a tool, technology, template or model, needed to make final decisions on a specific question regarding impacts of aquaculture;
  2. Public-private research partnerships that address specific, current problems that limit a steady supply of marine or Great Lakes fingerlings; and
  3. Social and/or economic research targeted to understand aquaculture issues in a larger context.

Applicants must describe how their proposed work will rapidly and significantly advance U.S. marine aquaculture development in the short-term (1-2 years after project completion).

Eligibility: Institutions of higher education, nonprofit and commercial organizations, State, local and Indian tribal governments and individuals are eligible to apply for funding. Federal agencies and their personnel are not permitted to receive federal funding under this competition; however, federal scientists can serve as uncompensated partners or co-Principal Investigators on proposals.

Funding: Applicants can request a maximum of $500,000 in total federal funding for up to a two-year period. Non-federal matching funds equal to at least 50 percent of the federal funding request must be provided. Depending on the availability of funds, NOAA Sea Grant expects to have up to $3 million available for new 2014 aquaculture research projects. Additional proposals from this competition may be selected for funding in the next fiscal year, subject to the availability of funds.

Collaborating with Michigan Sea Grant: It is highly recommended that applicants contact their state Sea Grant Program prior to submission of a pre-proposal to discuss the relevancy of the proposed idea and the process for submitting a full proposal.

For proposal submission questions, email: MSG-RFPinfo@umich.edu
To discuss proposal ideas, contact: Jim Diana, jimd@umich.edu

Deadlines: Pre-proposals (3 page limit) must be received by e-mail to National Sea Grant by 5 p.m. February 21, 2014. Full proposals are due from applicants to their state Sea Grant Program by 5 p.m. on May 5, 2014. Awards are anticipated to start no later than September 1, 2014.

Full Announcement: More information is available here. Or search grants.gov for Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-OAR-SG-2014-2003987.