NOAA earmarks $11 million for 50 projects

Fifty projects, representing “the best in cutting-edge science and research” in fish farming, will benefit from the roughly $11 million in funding from NOAA under the Saltonstall-Kennedy program.

            The projects “will help us better understand fish ecosystems, reduce bycatch, advance fish farming and improve fisheries management. All of these things help restore our fisheries and support economic growth,” said NOAA administrator Kathryn Sullivan.

            NOAA said it received a record number of proposals this year — 325 applications — requesting nearly $77 million. In order to better match research and development proposals with mission needs and goals, this year’s recommended projects fall into seven priorities:

• Aquaculture
• Techniques to reduce bycatch
• Adaptation to long-term climate and ecosystem change
• Socio-economic research
• Fishery data collection
• Promotion, development and marketing
• Science in US territories

            While the proposals have been under a rigorous evaluation process, the  application approval and recommended funding is yet to be finalized, the agency said.