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Healthy and productive fisheries are an essential component of the U.S. economy. There is increasing concern about the impacts of climate variability and change on fish stocks, fisheries, and marine ecosystems in the U.S. Climate variability and change influences many parameters (e.g. extreme events, winds, ocean temperatures, stratification, currents, coastal precipitation, inundation, etc.) that directly and indirectly affect marine ecosystem conditions including the abundance, distribution, and productivity of fish stocks that support economically important fisheries. Sustainable fisheries management in a changing climate requires an improved understanding of how climate, fishing, and other stressors interact to affect fish stocks (including their habitats and prey), fisheries and fishing-dependent communities. To address these issues of growing concern, in 2014 the Office of Atmospheric Research (OAR) Climate Program Office and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Office of Science and Technology launched a new partnership to advance understanding of climate-related impacts on fish or other species that support economically important fisheries and fishing communities. The goal is to inform sustainable fisheries management and promote resilience of the nation's fish stocks and fisheries in a changing climate. For FY17, this OAR/NMFS partnership, through the Coastal and Ocean Climate Applications (COCA) Program, will continue to take a regional approach to improving the resilience and adaptation of fisheries in a changing climate by soliciting proposals under two competitions. The first competition solicits proposals for projects in the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem (CCLME) and the second competition solicits proposals for projects in the Northeast US Continental Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem (NESLME).

The fishery research program consists of a portfolio of funded basic (discovery, descriptive, or hypothesis generation) and applied (descriptive or hypothesis-driven) research organized by theme areas given below. Research theme areas are: Human Dimensions of Great Lakes Fishery Management -- Human dimensions-related issues play a central role in Great Lakes fisheries in terms of values and beliefs, management challenges and desired outcomes, economics, and governance. Fishery objectives often focus on a limited number of ecological and social management goals; this theme aims to expand our understanding of the human dimension of fishery management and help in having that dimension reflected in fishery management practices. Physical Processes and Fish Recruitment in Large Lakes -- TBD. Energy Dynamics of Great Lakes Food Webs -- To understand energy dynamics in Great Lakes food webs and the role of food web members in structuring resilient communities and ecosystems. The Great Lakes Fishery Commission (Commission) grants funds to academic institutions, government agencies, and private corporations through research contracts. A Principal Investigator (PI) for each research project must be designated; the PI must be a permanent employee of the institution receiving the funds who can be held accountable for ensuring the work is completed as outlined in the contract.

Every year, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's Fisheries Innovation Fund releases two requests for proposals (RFPs) aimed at creating more sustainable fisheries in the United States: Fisheries Innovation Fund - NFWF launched the Fisheries Innovation Fund in 2010 to foster innovation in fisheries and seafood production and help sustain livelihoods, working waterfronts, and sustainable access to fisheries while rebuilding fish stocks. The fund's priorities include bycatch reduction, recreational fisheries and offshore aquaculture, including activities to build community capacity and encourage sustainable use practices. In past years, most projects have originated locally to address needs, challenges, and opportunities at the community level. 

The Saltonstall-Kennedy Act established a fund (known as the S-K fund) used by the Secretary of Commerce to provide grants or cooperative agreements for fisheries research and development projects addressing aspects of U.S. fisheries, including, but not limited to, harvesting, processing, marketing, and associated business infrastructures. Under this authority, grants and cooperative agreements are made on a competitive basis (subject to availability of funding) to assist in carrying out projects related to U.S. commercial and recreational fisheries. The term "fisheries" encompasses wild capture, marine aquaculture and recreational fishing. The objective of the S-K Grant Program is to address the needs of the fisheries and fishing communities in optimizing economic benefits by building and maintaining sustainable fisheries and practices, dealing with the impacts of conservation and management measures, and increasing other opportunities to use existing infrastructure to support keeping working waterfronts viable. U.S. fisheries include any fishery, commercial or recreational, that is, or may be, engaged in by citizens or nationals of the United States. Proposals submitted to this competition must address at least one of the following priorities: Marine Aquaculture; Adapting to Environmental Change and Other Long Term Ecosystem Change; Promotion, Development and Marketing; or Territorial Science.

Section 812 of ANILCA directs the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture, cooperating with other Federal agencies, the State of Alaska, and Alaska Native and rural organizations, to research and monitor fish and wildlife subsistence uses on Federal public lands and to seek data from, consult with, and make use of the knowledge of local residents engaged in subsistence. When the Federal government assumed responsibility for management of subsistence fisheries on Federal public lands in Alaska in 1999, the Secretary of the Interior made a commitment to increase the quantity and quality of information available to manage subsistence fisheries, to increase quality and quantity of meaningful involvement by Alaska Native and rural organizations, and to increase collaboration among Federal, State, Alaska Native, and rural organizations. The mission of the Fisheries Resource Monitoring Program (Monitoring Program) is to identify and provide information needed to sustain subsistence fisheries on Federal public lands for rural Alaskans through a multidisciplinary, collaborative program. The main focus of the Monitoring Program will continue to be projects whose purpose is the collection, dissemination, and application of information used in the management of Federal subsistence fisheries in Alaska.

OES will award one cooperative agreement of up to $500,000 U.S. Dollars (USD), or two cooperative agreements of up to $250,000 USD each in FY 2017 ESF to support fisheries management and governance in U.S. FTA countries, including by: 1) improving the science-based management of fisheries; 2) improving fisheries monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) measures to ensure compliance with fisheries regulations; and 3) combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, in particular by supporting vessel registry and fisheries information sharing systems.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Southeast Region, is seeking proposals under the Marine Fisheries Initiative Program (MARFIN), for research and development projects that optimize the use of fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and off the South Atlantic states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, involving the U.S. fishing industry (recreational and commercial), including fishery biology, resources assessment, socio-economic assessment, management and conservation, selected harvesting methods, and fish handling and processing. This program addresses NOAA's mission goal "Healthy Oceans."

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Southeast Region, is seeking proposals under the Marine Fisheries Initiative Program (MARFIN), for research and development projects that optimize the use of fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and off the South Atlantic states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, involving the U.S. fishing industry (recreational and commercial), including fishery biology, resources assessment, socio-economic assessment, management and conservation, selected harvesting methods, and fish handling and processing. This program addresses NOAA's mission goal "Healthy Oceans."

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Southeast Region, is seeking proposals under the Marine Fisheries Initiative Program (MARFIN), for research and development projects that optimize the use of fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and off the South Atlantic states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, involving the U.S. fishing industry (recreational and commercial), including fishery biology, resources assessment, socio-economic assessment, management and conservation, selected harvesting methods, and fish handling and processing. This program addresses NOAA's mission goal "Healthy Oceans."

The BTRP program provides opportunity to compete for financial assistance for projects which seek to increase and improve the working relationship between fisheries researchers from the NMFS, state fishery agencies, universities, other research institutions and U.S. fishery interests (recreational and commercial) focusing on northern bluefin tuna in the Atlantic Ocean. The program is a means of advancing research objectives to address the information needs to improve the science-based fisheries management for Atlantic bluefin tuna. This program addresses NOAA's mission goal to "Protect, Restore, and Manage the Use of Coastal and Ocean Resources through an Ecosystem Approach to Management.".

NOAA Fisheries Service (NMFS) developed the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (Plan) in consultation with the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team (Team) to reduce the serious injury and mortality of several large whale species in U.S. commercial fisheries along the Atlantic coast. The Plan primarily addresses entanglement of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis), although other large whale species expected to also benefit. The Plan has several monitoring components, including research priorities on: 1) identification of specific metrics for quantifying right whale abundance, trends in abundance, and trajectory of the population; 2) based on these metrics, determine most appropriate right whale survey and sampling methods/regimes to monitor the population and to detect and measure changes in population abundance; 3) Assess relative effectiveness of right whale threat-reduction measures; 4) identify most appropriate sampling and survey methods to assess possible changes in right whale distribution; and 5) Strategic evaluation of right whale assessment methods - appropriate balance of visual (vessel/aerial) surveys, passive acoustic moorings, gliders, and other assessment techniques. We are soliciting competitive proposals for grants and cooperative agreements that work to address any of the five monitoring priorities identified above. Total funding available under this notice is expected not to exceed $150,000. Actual funding availability for this program is contingent upon FY 2017 Federal appropriations. Award amounts will be determined by the proposals and available funds; one or more grants may be awarded.

NOAA Fisheries Service (NMFS) developed the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (Plan) in consultation with the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team (Team) to reduce the serious injury and mortality of several large whale species in U.S. commercial fisheries along the Atlantic coast. The Plan primarily addresses entanglement of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis), although other large whale species expected to also benefit. The Plan has several monitoring components, including research priorities on: 1) identification of specific metrics for quantifying right whale abundance, trends in abundance, and trajectory of the population; 2) based on these metrics, determine most appropriate right whale survey and sampling methods/regimes to monitor the population and to detect and measure changes in population abundance; 3) Assess relative effectiveness of right whale threat-reduction measures; 4) identify most appropriate sampling and survey methods to assess possible changes in right whale distribution; and 5) Strategic evaluation of right whale assessment methods - appropriate balance of visual (vessel/aerial) surveys, passive acoustic moorings, gliders, and other assessment techniques. We are soliciting competitive proposals for grants and cooperative agreements that work to address any of the five monitoring priorities identified above. Total funding available under this notice is expected not to exceed $150,000. Actual funding availability for this program is contingent upon FY 2017 Federal appropriations. Award amounts will be determined by the proposals and available funds; one or more grants may be awarded.

The Cooperative Research Program (CRP) provides opportunity to compete for financial assistance for projects seeking to improve and strengthen the relationship between fisheries researchers from NMFS, state fishery agencies, and universities and the U.S. fishing industry (recreational and commercial) in the Gulf of Mexico (FL, AL, MS, LA, TX), South Atlantic (FL, NC, SC, GA) and Caribbean (USVI and Puerto Rico). The program bolsters partnerships by providing a way for involving commercial and recreational fishermen in the collection of fundamental fisheries information in support of management and regulatory options. This program addresses NOAA's mission to "Protect, Restore, and Manage the Use of Coastal and Ocean Resources through an Ecosystem Approach to Management."

The Fellowship Program expects to award two new Ph.D. Fellowships each year to students who are interested in careers related to the development and implementation of quantitative methods for assessing the economics of the conservation and management of living marine resources. Fellows will work on thesis problems of public interest and relevance to National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) under the guidance of NMFS mentors at participating NMFS Science Centers or Offices. The NMFS-Sea Grant Fellowship in Marine Resource Economics meets NOAA's Healthy Oceans goal of "Marine fisheries, habitats, biodiversity sustained with healthy and productive ecosystems." The expected annual award per Fellow will be $46,000 (Federal plus matching funds), which is funded jointly by NOAA Fisheries and Sea Grant.

This project will help monitor the fishery in Pyramid Lake, Nevada. This is a collaboration between the Lahontan Nation Fish Hatchery Complex (LNFHC), Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe (PLPT) and Utah State University to implement the desired monitoring tier that was outlined in the Pyramid Lake management plan. Successful management of this fishery will require adequate and consistent monitoring of Lahontan Cutthroat Trout and Tui Chub abundance in order to facilitate successful adaptive management decision making. By implementing the Tier 1 monitoring plan we will be addressing Department of the Interior financial assistance Priority 1 and Priority 2 by helping the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe maintain this legacy fishery which will allow this unique natural resource to be utilized by future generations.

The National Sea Grant College Program was enacted by U.S. Congress in 1966 (amended in 2008, Public Law 110-394) to support leveraged federal and state partnership that harness the intellectual capacity of the nation's universities and research institutions to solve problems and generate opportunities in coastal communities. The 2019 NMFS-Sea Grant Fellowship Program in Marine Resource Economics expects to award one new Ph.D. Fellowship each year to students who are interested in careers related to the development and implementation of quantitative methods for assessing the economics of the conservation and management of living marine resources. This fellowship can provide support for up to three years. Fellows will work on thesis problems of public interest and relevance to National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) under the guidance of NMFS mentors at participating NMFS Science Centers or Offices. The NMFS-Sea Grant Fellowship in Marine Resource Economics meets NOAA's Healthy Oceans goal of "Marine fisheries, habitats, biodiversity sustained with healthy and productive ecosystems." The expected annual award per Fellow will be $48,000 (Federal plus matching funds), jointly funded by NOAA Fisheries and Sea Grant.

The Saltonstall-Kennedy Act established a fund (known as the S-K fund) used by the Secretary of Commerce to provide grants or cooperative agreements for fisheries research and development projects addressing aspects of U.S. fisheries, including, but not limited to, harvesting, processing, marketing, and associated business infrastructures. Under this authority, grants and cooperative agreements are made on a competitive basis (subject to availability of funding) to assist in carrying out projects related to U.S. commercial and recreational fisheries.

The National Marine Fisheries Service Southeast Region (Fisheries Southeast Regional Office) is seeking proposals under the Gulf of Mexico B-WET Program. The Gulf of Mexico B-WET program is a competitive, environmental education, grants program that promotes locally relevant, experiential learning in the K-12 environment. Funded projects provide Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs) for students, related professional development for teachers, and help to support regional education and environmental priorities in the Gulf of Mexico. 

The principal objective of the NOAA Coastal Resilience Grants Program is to implement projects that build resilience of U.S. coastal communities and ecosystems. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2018, this solicitation is seeking coastal habitat restoration projects that build resilience by conserving and restoring sustainable ecosystem processes and functions and reducing the vulnerability of coastal communities and infrastructure from the impacts of extreme weather events, climate hazards, and changing ocean conditions. This program supports activities that restore or create natural infrastructure and natural landscape features to provide valuable ecosystem functions and services, such as habitat for fish, improved water quality and quantity, flood reduction, and erosion protection. Proposed projects should also support sustainable fisheries managed by NOAA under the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act (Managed Species), contribute to the recovery of protected resources managed by NOAA under the Endangered Species Act (Listed Species) - including species identified by NMFS as "Species in the Spotlight," and/or benefit native fish species of the Great Lakes.

The Fellowship Program expects to award at least three new Ph.D. Fellowships in 2018 to students who are interested in careers related to marine ecosystem and population dynamics, with a focus on modeling and managing systems of living marine resources. The emphasis will be on the development and implementation of quantitative methods for assessing marine ecosystems, for assessing the status of fish, invertebrate, and other targeted species stocks and for assessing the status of marine mammals, seabirds, and other protected species. Fellows will work on thesis problems of public interest and relevance to National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) under the guidance of NMFS mentors at participating NMFS Science Centers or Offices. The NMFS-Sea Grant Fellowship in Population and Ecosystem Dynamics meets NOAA's Healthy Oceans goal of "Marine fisheries, habitats, biodiversity sustained with healthy and productive ecosystems".

To collaboratively assess, plan, implement and monitor a variety of watershed and fisheries restoration actions. These include measures to improve aquatic, estuarine, upland and floodplain habitat conditions. Monitoring includes ongoing adult and juvenile salmon and steelhead monitoring through spawning surveys, juvenile dive surveys and trapping. Additional water quality and streamflow monitoring may be required to assess project effectiveness or feasibility.