NOAA Fisheries has selected 13 projects it wants to fund in an ongoing effort to reduce the amount of bycatch taken by commercial fishing operations.
The competitive grant program will award a total of USD 2.6 million (EUR 2.4 million) for the 2024 funding around, with the individual awards ranging from USD 74,000 to USD 250,000 (EUR 68,000 to EUR 229,000).
“Preventing and reducing bycatch is a shared goal of fisheries managers, the fishing industry, and the environmental community,” NOAA Fisheries said in a statement. “Working in collaboration with fishermen and industry partners, the Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program has supported solutions to some of the top bycatch challenges facing our nation's fisheries.”
Priority research areas in 2024 were researching new technologies, encouraging adoption of new technologies, reducing post-release mortality, avoiding habitat interactions, and conducting international research.
Recommended grants include:
- USD 192,000 (EUR 176,000) to Blue Planet Strategies to design ropeless gear;
- USD 179,00 (EUR 164,000) to the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk Country to develop a turtle excluder device for the summer flounder fishery;
- USD 228,000 (EUR 209,000) to Lift Labs to improve its ropeless gear system;
- USD 239,000 (EUR 219,000) to the University of New England to produce 75 devices that deter sharks with electrical fields;
- USD 246,000 (EUR 225,000) to the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission to explore longline-configured Dungeness crab gear;
- USD 193,000 (EUR 177,000) to Sub Sea Sonics for ropeless gear;
- USD 74,000 (EUR 68,000) to the Pacific Islands Fisheries Group to record and share traditional knowledge about shark-fisher interactions;
- USD 206,000 (EUR 189,000) to the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation to research biodegradable Fish Aggregating Devices;
- USD 198,000 (EUR 181,000) to the University of Alaska to develop gear modifications that prevent killer whale mortalities;
- USD 200,000 (EUR 183,000) to FishNext Research to accelerate adoption of active selection systems in the North Pacific;
- USD 200,000 (EUR 183,000) to the U.S. Virgin Islands government to evaluate the effectiveness of fish trap escape vents;
- USD 248,000 (EUR 227,000) to the Florida Atlantic University to test the use of galvanic fields to reduce shark bycatch; and
- USD 250,000 (EUR 229,000) to Texas A&M University to optimize descender devices in the red snapper fishery.
The 2025 grant competition is already underway. NOAA Fisheries said it has USD 2.3 million (EUR 2.1 million) in available funding for projects.
“We invite non-federal researchers working on the development of improved fishing practices and innovative gear technologies that reduce bycatch to apply and encourage applicants to include and demonstrate principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility,” NOAA Fisheries noted on its website. “We’re looking for proactive, meaningful, and equitable community engagement in the identification, design, and/or implementation of proposed projects.”
