**All applicants must complete a partnership form before 12:00 PM PST on Tuesday, October 19th, 2021 to help coordinate proposals with California Sea Grant extension personnel. Details are below.
Open to Sea Grant Programs
$5,000,000 total to fund approximately 5-10 projects for up to three years
Federal Funding Opportunity: NOAA-OAR-SG-2022-2007054
The National Sea Grant Office anticipates approximately $5,000,000 will be available for research projects and programs that will significantly advance marine finfish juvenile production technologies for aquaculture. The overall goal is to develop and refine reproduction/broodstock, hatchery, and/or nursery strategies enabling the reliable production of sufficient quantities of juvenile marine finfish to supply on-growing operations. Applications may request up to $1,000,000 in federal funds addressing the program priorities. The anticipated start date is July 1, 2022, with projects to be completed no later than June 30, 2025.
This is one of two federal funding opportunities to advance U.S. aquaculture announced by the National Sea Grant College Program.
Webinar
Eligibility
Program Objectives and Priorities
Deadlines
Webinar
The National Sea Grant Office's informational webinar will be on October 15th, 2021 at 11:00 AM PST.
Eligibility
Eligible Applicants include: Sea Grant College Programs, Sea Grant Institutional Programs, and Sea Grant Coherent Area Programs.
All applicants must complete a partnership form before 12:00 PM PST on Tuesday, October 19th, 2021 to help coordinate proposals with California Sea Grant extension personnel. Details are below.
- All proposals to this competition must be submitted by a Sea Grant program. A Sea Grant program may submit or participate in more than one proposal. Other interested entities must submit proposals in partnership with and through a relevant Sea Grant Program. This includes: any individual; any public or private corporation, partnership, or other association or entity; or any State, political subdivision of a State, Tribal government or agency or officer thereof.
- Federal agencies and their personnel are not permitted to receive federal funding under this competition; however, federal scientists and other employees can serve as uncompensated partners or co-Principal Investigators on applications. Federal labs and offices can also make available specialized expertise, facilities, or equipment to applicants but cannot be compensated under this competition for their use, nor can the value of such assets be used as match.
All proposals must include adequate funding (Federal or match) for Sea Grant extension personnel (specialists and staff) as collaborators. To help California Sea Grant facilitate collaboration and coordinate its efforts in response to this FFO, those interested in applying with California Sea Grant for this NOFO need to complete the brief partnership form no later than 12:00 PM PST on Tuesday, October 19th, 2021. Due to the short timeline and high interest, our team will not consider requests for partnership outside of submissions via the partnership form by the specified deadline.
After reviewing partnership form submissions, the California Sea Grant (CASG) Aquaculture Team will determine which proposed projects are most appropriate to pursue and follow up with prospective collaborators within a reasonable time before the LOI due date. Priority will be given to proposal ideas which 1) fit with California Sea Grant extension personnel goals and expertise, 2) have a high likelihood of success and contribute to the development of California’s aquaculture industry, 3) have demonstrated expertise, infrastructure, and capacity to study the species of interest, and 4) are aligned with the California Sea Grant Strategic Plan.
In order to develop meaningful collaboration and proposals, the CASG Aquaculture Team anticipates only a small number of proposed ideas will move forward to the LOI and full proposal stage. If you are interested in responding to this funding opportunity with California Sea Grant, please complete the partnership form as soon as possible and at the latest by 12:00 PM PST on Tuesday, October 19th, 2021.
Click the button to access the form: Partnership Form
Program Objectives and Priorities
Please see the information for this funding opportunity on grants.gov for a full description of the program and evaluation criteria.
Objectives:
This competition focuses on research projects and programs that will significantly advance marine finfish juvenile production technologies for aquaculture. The overall goal is to develop and refine broodstock, hatchery, and/or nursery strategies enabling the reliable production of sufficient quantities of juvenile marine finfish to supply ongrowing operations.
Strong applications will address program priorities described below and will integrate research and extension. Proposals are sought that support broad, non-proprietary research to address critical gaps with respect to marine finfish juvenile production technologies; make that information available to U.S. coastal and Great Lakes aquaculture businesses; and include Sea Grant aquaculture extension personnel and also preferably industry stakeholders
Priorities
One segment of U.S. aquaculture of increasing interest, importance, and potential expansion is the production of marine finfish, especially through offshore as well as landbased on-growing culture systems. Recently, Florida Atlantic University Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI), USDA-ARS, and NOAA, with the aid of experts from academia, government, and industry developed a list of marine finfish species including their commercial status. This was followed by presentations of species status at professional meetings which culminated in publication of a Special Issue in the Journal of the World Aquaculture Society entitled "Status of U.S. marine finfish species for domestic aquaculture expansion." As a result of this publication, a total of 18 marine finfish species of interest were identified by experts and classified with the status of “commercially ready,” “technologically feasible,” or “in experimental development.” Those 18 species are eligible for this competition. In addition, steelhead trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, is an eligible species for this competition. Proposals submitted to this funding opportunity must focus on one or more of the 19 species listed below.
• Almaco jack, Seriola rivoliana - Commercially ready
• Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua - Commercially ready
• Black sea bass, Centropristis striata - Commercially ready
• California yellowtail, Seriola lalandi - Commercially ready
• Cobia, Rachycentron canadum - Commercially ready
• Florida pompano, Trachinotus carolinus - Commercially ready
• Olive flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus - Commercially ready
• Red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus - Commercially ready
• Sablefish, Anoplopoma fimbria - Commercially ready
• Spotted wolffish, Anarhichas minor - Commercially ready
• Striped bass, Morone saxatilis - Commercially ready
• White sea bass, Atractoscion nobilis - Commercially ready
• California halibut, Paralichthys californicus - Technologically feasible
• Spotted seatrout, Cynoscion nebulosus - Technologically feasible
• Greater amberjack, Seriola dumerili - In experimental development
• Southern flounder, Paralichthys lethostigma - In experimental development
• Summer flounder, Paralichthys dentatus - In experimental development
• Tripletail, Lobotes surinamensis - In experimental development
• Steelhead trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss
This competition will fund proposals that: 1) address barriers to production of marine finfish juveniles of one or more of the species listed above; 2) demonstrate that the work proposed will meaningfully advance the commercialization of the species being studied; and 3) demonstrate a plan to extend the results of work to industry stakeholders in the U.S.
See grants.gov for full funding opportunity details.
Deadlines
- October 19th, 2021, 12:00 PM PST - Submit partnership form with proposal idea(s)
- November 9th, 2021, 5:00 PM PST - Notices to submit are due to oar.hq.sg.aquaculture@noaa.gov and copy sgproposal@ucsd.edu
- January 13th, 2022, 5:00 PM PST - Internal deadline for full proposals
- January 27th, 2022, 8:59 PM PST - Full proposals are due to grants.gov