FY2025 National Aquaculture Initiative: Strengthening U.S. Coastal, Marine, and Great Lakes Aquaculture Through Business Support
Posted to the NOAA Sea Grant website.
Subject to the availability of funding, Sea Grant anticipates that approximately $5 million in federal funds will be available in fiscal year 2024 and fiscal year 2025 for research projects and programs aimed at strengthening U.S. coastal, marine, and Great Lakes aquaculture through support for developing new aquaculture businesses, as well as enhancing the output, efficiency, and profitability of existing businesses.
Strong applications will integrate research and extension. Proposals should encompass broad, non-proprietary research addressing topics and issues relevant to the support of new and existing aquaculture businesses, with the goal of making that information available to the U.S. aquaculture community.
Projects should focus on supporting businesses involved with aquatic species currently produced on a commercial scale in the U.S. Proposals involving new or emerging aquatic species, new or novel production methods, improvements to species production, or restoration projects will not be considered.
Federal Funding Opportunity: NOAA-OAR-SG-2025-28975
Proposal Details:
Federal funds ranging from $100,000 to $1 million may be requested per application. Projects may have a duration of up to three years. Applications will require 50% non-federal match funding. The cumulative match at the end of each grant year must not fall below 50% of the cumulative federal request up to that point.
All projects must take place within the United States or its territories, or their respective waterways. There is no guarantee that funds will be available to make awards or that any application will be selected for funding.
This opportunity is open to any individual, public or private corporation, partnership, or other entity, including Sea Grant Colleges, Sea Grant Institutes, or other institutions, as well as state, political subdivisions, tribal governments, or agencies thereof. Applicants are strongly encouraged to involve Sea Grant extension personnel and members of the U.S. aquaculture community.
Carefully review the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for specific instructions on how to apply via grants.gov.
Proposal Deadlines:
Letters of intent are due Dec. 4, 2024.
Full proposal applications must be submitted via grants.gov by Feb. 12, 2025.
An informational webinar is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, at 3:30 p.m. ET. To access the webinar, use this Google Meet link.
For questions about this competition, contact Chuck Weirich or Mark Rath, National Sea Grant Office’s aquaculture managers (oar.hq.sg.aquaculture@noaa.gov). Please only use this email address regarding submission of questions pertaining to this competition and put the name of the competition in the subject line.