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Four grants of up to $246,875 U.S. Dollars (USD) each will be awarded for work that will support efforts that help prevent marine debris from entering the ocean, subject to the availability of funding. A maximum of two applications will be allowed per applicant, one application for each of the two project categories. We will not accept multiple applications for the same project category. Projects must fall in one of two categories: 1. Reducing marine debris through capacity building for the development of environmentally sustainable waste management systems. Three awards will be funded under this category. 2. Reducing the amount of abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) in the ocean. One award will be funded under this category.

Four grants of up to $246,875 U.S. Dollars (USD) each will be awarded for work that will support efforts that help prevent marine debris from entering the ocean, subject to the availability of funding. A maximum of two applications will be allowed per applicant, one application for each of the two project categories. We will not accept multiple applications for the same project category. Projects must fall in one of two categories: 1. Reducing marine debris through capacity building for the development of environmentally sustainable waste management systems. Three awards will be funded under this category. 2. Reducing the amount of abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) in the ocean. One award will be funded under this category.

NOAA's B-WET program funds locally relevant, authentic experiential learning for K-12 audiences through Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs). MWEEs are multi‐stage activities that include learning both outdoors and in the classroom and aim to increase understanding and stewardship of watersheds and related ocean, coastal, riverine, estuarine, and Great Lakes ecosystems. NOAA funding is provided to support student investigation of environmental topics both locally and globally that are of interest to them, leveraging local STEM assets and STEM professionals. Students identify actions to address these issues and understand the value of those actions, enabling them to help to understand, protect, and restore watersheds and related ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems.

The purpose of this document is to advise the public that NOAA/NOS/National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS and the NOAA Ocean Acidification Program (OAP) are soliciting proposals for the Identification and Application of Acidification Thresholds in Coastal Ecosystems. Funding is contingent upon the availability of Fiscal Year 2018 Federal appropriations. It is anticipated that projects funded under this announcement will have a September 1, 2018 start date. Total funding for this research: Applicants should submit proposals not to exceed $350,000 per year for projects generally 2-3 years in duration, with a total multi-year budget not to exceed $1,050,000. If funds become available for this program, up to approximately $1,000,000 may be available in Fiscal Year 2018 for the first year of about 1-3 projects with expected start dates of September 1, 2018. Funding for this program is contingent upon availability of funds, which may not have been appropriated at the time of this announcement.. While projects are expected to be 2-3 years in scope, funding may be spread over 4 federal fiscal years depending on how project timelines align with federal budgets.

The purpose of this document is to advise the public that NOAA/NOS/National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), in partnership with the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, and the National Marine Fisheries Service's Southeast Regional Office, is soliciting proposals under the Regional Ecosystem Prediction Program for a project up to 5 years in duration to conduct research to improve the understanding of population connectivity of key coral ecosystem species in the western Gulf of Mexico between the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary and the reefs and banks to the east of the current Sanctuary boundaries in the northern Gulf of Mexico, but can also include coral ecosystems upstream and downstream as relevant. This information will be used to support decisions concerning current and future marine protected area (MPA) management and MPA networks for shallow and mesophotic coral ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico and provide insight into regional connectivity. Funding is contingent upon the availability of Fiscal Year 2018 Federal appropriations. If funds become available for this program, one project is expected to be supported for up to 5 years, with an approximate annual budget up to $750,000.

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 goal of sustainable development is to find a balance between the need for socio-economic development and the need to preserve the environment, and to thus meet the requirements of present and future generations. The 2016 Green Talents competition will address the effects of climate change, pollution, and overfishing on the earth's biggest natural resources, the oceans, in line with the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research's Science Year 2016/2017, which is devoted to the "Seas and Oceans."

The primary focus of the Foundation's grant making in Conservation is the protection of the world's oceans and species. The Foundation is interested in site-specific projects designed to improve the health of ocean habitats and to enhance their ability to withstand the challenges of climate change. In addition, the Foundation supports efforts to fund species protection, particularly regarding the seas' apex predators. 

Grants will fund projects related to the Waitt Foundation mission of supporting sustainable fishing and marine protected areas (MPAs). This includes sub-themes of: Scientific Research - Includes natural science or social science projects. For example, collecting baseline data before coastal development or MPA establishment, or studying fishery effects of a natural (e.g. tsunami) or man-made (e.g. oil spill) disaster. Policy - Includes opportunistic projects around unique public policy windows, such as preparation of policy analysis and support of experts' efforts to inform decision makers on upcoming government actions. For example, a cost-benefit analysis of proposed fishing regulations, or travel expenses for a delegation of scientists to educate elected officials. Management - Includes enforcement and infrastructure support. For example, stop-gap funding to increase enforcement capacity in light of a sudden uptick in illegal dynamite fishing, or training personnel to enforce new regulations about to go into effect. Communications - Includes raising public awareness and engaging stakeholders, including advertising by a 501(c)3 group around a public policy moment. For example, a PR blitz (e.g. billboards or radio adds) to educate the public in advance of government action on an ocean conservation measure, or training local people to become citizen scientists or enforcement tipsters.

The NOAA/NASA/DOD Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation (JCSDA) is a distributed center that engages units of NASA: Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Earth-Sun Exploration Division; NOAA: NESDIS Center for Satellite Applications and Research (STAR) , National Weather Service (NWS) National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), and Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR); US Navy: Oceanographer of the Navy and the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL); and US Air Force Air Weather Agency. The Joint Center's goal is to accelerate the abilities of NOAA, DoD, and NASA to ingest and effectively use the large volumes of data from current satellite-based instruments and planned satellite missions. The JCSDA supports scientific development work in the following priority areas (1) Radiative transfer, (2) Clouds and precipitation data assimilation, (3) Advanced instruments data assimilation, (4) Land data assimilation, (5) Ocean data assimilation and (6) Air Composition data assimilation. JCSDA research is performed internally (internal research) as well as externally using grants and/or contracts awarded via a competitive process open to the broader scientific community (external research). The overarching goal of JCSDA research is to accelerate the assimilation of satellite data in US operational numerical environment forecast models. A primary measure of potential impact in this solicitation will be the acceleration of satellite data usage into NOAA, and DoD forecast systems, and the improvement of forecasts from those systems.

The purpose of this document is to advise the public that NOAA/NOS/National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science/Competitive Research Program, in partnership with NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, is soliciting proposals under the Regional Ecosystem Prediction Program for a project up to five years in duration to conduct research to improve the understanding of population connectivity of key mesophotic coral ecosystem species in the Hawaiian Archipelago. This information will be used to improve the ability of resource managers to proactively develop strategies to manage and protect poorly understood mesophotic coral ecosystems and provide insight into regional ecosystem connectivity. Funding is contingent upon the availability of Fiscal Year 2019 Federal appropriations. If funds become available for this program, one project is expected to be supported for up to five years, with an approximate annual budget of up to $1,000,000.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) through the Marine Minerals Program (MMP) is offering a cooperative agreement opportunity to conduct research to serve the public interest in offshore sand resources, coastal restoration, coastal resiliency, and to meet the MMP and Gulf States¿ goal of a Gulf-wide Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) sediment inventory. The overall goal of this cooperative agreement is to work with Gulf States to recover legacy geological and geophysical data that will ultimately provide for development of an offshore sediment resources inventory. One of the primary objectives is to coordinate with all 5 Gulf States and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to develop a Gulf-Wide Sediment Inventory program for funding under a future opportunity such as the RESTORE Act Funded Priorities List. This funding is available to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). This is not an open solicitation for proposals. The OCSLA (43 USC 1345)authorizes the use of cooperative agreements with affected States to meet the requirements of OCSLA, including sharing of information, joint utilization of available expertise, formation of joint monitoring arrangements to carry out applicable Federal and State laws, regulations, and stipulations relevant to outer continental shelf operations both onshore and offshore. All awards are premised on receipt of an acceptable proposal.

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.".

The Alaska Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Region of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is offering a cooperative agreement for the study of Landfast Ice Climatology within the Arctic OCS, covering the areas of the Beaufort, Chukchi and possibly Bering seas. This study will examine the changes in landfast ice extent and stability over time and the physical forces driving these changes. This study will also investigate how the changing state of landfast ice conditions impact the oil and gas industry and the coastal communities at present and into the future. Field experiments that document the thermodynamic growth and decay of landfast ice will support validation of results from coupled ice-ocean circulation models used to support trajectory analyses for Oil Spill Risk Analysis (OSRA). This announcement is specifically to announce intent to undertake the project: Landfast Ice Climatology within the Arctic Alaska OCS Region, that is open to the University of Alaska Fairbanks via the Alaska Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit. The award will be a cooperative agreement. This involves substantial involvement by BOEM scientists in various aspects of study development and/or study conduct. The award is premised on receipt of an acceptable proposal. This is not an open solicitation for proposals.

The purpose of this Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO) is to build capacity for environmental literacy in support of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) mission goals through a cooperative agreement with a non-profit organization. In order to further the efforts of the external community that supports NOAA's environmental literacy-related priorities, NOAA is seeking a partnership with a nonprofit organization with a mission of environmental education and/or conservation to work with NOAA to implement formal and informal education efforts, outreach, and professional development in support of environmental literacy. The successful applicant will be supported through a 5-year cooperative agreement with NOAA and should have significant experience supporting environmental literacy, as well as capacity to convene meetings and workshops, manage small-scale grants, and support program evaluation. Experience facilitating partnerships, developing education and outreach materials, and implementing educator professional development is also preferred. Specific activities will be determined collaboratively with NOAA and will further the efforts of the external community to build environmental literacy through informal and formal education. Projects will support NOAA's mission in the areas of ocean, coastal, Great Lakes, weather, and climate sciences and stewardship as defined by the goals of the NOAA Education Strategic Plan 2015-2035

This Program Announcement provides the vehicle for the University of Alaska, Fairbanks (UAF) to submit a proposal to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) for consideration for funding in Fiscal Year 2019. This announcement provides general information on suitable topics for research.BOEM is offering a single source cooperative agreement opportunity to conduct ecosystem research in topics that serve the public interest in the safe and environmentally sound energy development on the nations outer continental shelf.The OCSLA Section 1345 authorizes the use of cooperative agreements with affected States to meet the requirements of OCSLA, including sharing of information, joint utilization of available expertise, and formation of joint monitoring arrangements to carry out applicable Federal and State laws, regulations, and stipulations relevant to outer continental shelf operations both onshore and offshore.BOEM seeks a study from UAF that will: provide public benefit, stimulate the application of science to problem solving and protection of natural resources, promote educational opportunities in the ocean sciences, and lead to protection of natural resources of value to subsistence lifestyles.The total anticipated amount of funding is $125,000. The project is intended as a two year study with approximately $75,000 allocated towards fiscal year 2019 and $50,000 towards fiscal year 2020.

coastal areas are defined as those within coastal shoreline counties or coastal watershed counties. Coastal shoreline counties are directly adjacent to the open ocean, major estuaries, or the Great Lakes. Coastal watershed counties are located along inland rivers and streams with a significant impact on coastal and ocean resources. Please review Section I.A.1 and the evaluation criteria in Section V.A.1 to understand the preferred target species within coastal areas.Applications from individuals, federal agencies, or employees of federal agencies will not be considered. Individuals and federal agencies are strongly encouraged to work with states, non-governmental organizations, municipal and county governments, and others that are eligible to apply. Involvement of other federal agencies should be clearly described in the project proposal. Foreign governments are not eligible to apply for funding under this announcement.The Department of Commerce and NOAA are strongly committed to increasing the participation of Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), i.e., Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribal colleges and universities, Alaskan Native and Native Hawaiian institutions, and institutions that work in underserved communities. This will be considered by the Selecting Official (SO) as he/she considers the balance/distribution of funds by type of institutions or partners, as described in Section V.C.

FY18 Deep-Sea Exploration, Characterization, and Education in National Marine Sanctuaries funding opportunity is being offered to explore and document the deep-sea oceanography, marine habitats, cultural sites, and living and non-living resources in and around national marine sanctuaries to better understand their biology, ecology, geology, and cultural resources. The research should use deep-sea technology and telepresence communication systems to create high-end 4K imagery, collect critical data and information, and create derived products with that data, including maps of deep-water regions in the National Marine Sanctuary System. In addition, the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) strives to engage broad audiences to enhance America's environmental literacy through the excitement of ocean discovery. This deep-sea research should utilize telepresence technology from the research platform to beam high resolution images and video to distributed land-based locations to engaged distributed science parties, as well as to locations accessible to the general public and formal and informal educators and their associated facilities. ONMS regularly forms such collaborations to reach out to the public in innovative ways to improve the literacy of learners with respect to ocean issues.

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill was the largest maritime oil spill in United States history, discharging millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico over a period of eighty-seven days. In addition, approximately 1.8 million gallons of dispersants (products that break up oil into smaller particles) were applied to the spill area. Many oceanic, or pelagic, fish species in the Gulf were injured during the spill, including tuna, billfish, sharks and mackerel, as well as deepwater fish such as lancetfish. Fishing businesses and communities depend on these natural resources, which are also a critical component of the Gulf ecosystem. But many of these species have yet to be fully restored.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is focused on providing the essential and highest quality environmental information vital to our Nation's safety, prosperity and resilience. Toward this goal, the agency conducts and supports weather and climate research, oceanic and atmospheric observations, modeling, information management, assessments, interdisciplinary decision-support research, outreach, education, and partnership development.