2023 Chesapeake Bay Fisheries Research Program

This Notice of Funding Opportunity is seeking projects with clear near term management application and projects that either investigate the impacts of climate change, habitat quality, and/or changing environmental variables on fish and shellfish resources to inform sustainable and ecosystem based fisheries management or use innovative methods to assess the effectiveness of nearshore habitat restoration in enhancing fish communities and ecosystem resilience in response to climate change.

Donor Name: Department of Commerce

State: All States

Deadline: 04/17/2023

Size of the Grant: $150,000

Grant Duration: 36 months

Details:

The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office (NCBO) is directed by law to provide technical assistance in identifying science-based management options for restoration and protection of living resources and their habitats; monitoring and assessing the status of living resources and their habitats; and, evaluating the effectiveness of management plan implementation.

Projects should seek to employ and educate undergraduate or graduate students from groups underrepresented in marine science careers, including minorities.

NCBO’s Fisheries Research Program targets better understanding of fisheries status, trends, and ecosystem value to inform ecosystem based management of Chesapeake Bay estuarine species and habitats. The program seeks to establish a strong understanding of the Chesapeake Bay system, the complex connections among organisms and their habitats, multispecies interactions, and the wide range of processes that affect their dynamics. Research conducted under this program should help to inform fisheries management and natural resource decisions through:

• Integration of species, habitat and ecosystem information
• Increased understanding of climate change and related ecological shifts,
• Improved habitat restoration assessment techniques, and -Quantification and valuation of habitat ecosystem services.

This research program aims to support NOAA Fisheries Ecosystem Based Fisheries Policy and Road Map and the Chesapeake Bay Program’s 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement.

The policy has six guiding principles:

• Implement ecosystem-level planning.
• Advance our understanding of ecosystem processes.
• Prioritize vulnerabilities and risks of ecosystems and their components.
• Explore and address trade-offs within an ecosystem.
• Incorporate ecosystem considerations into management advice.
• Maintain resilient ecosystems

Priorities

Priority Area 1:

• Applied science investigating the impacts of climate change, habitat quality, and/or changing environmental variables on fish and shellfish resources to inform sustainable and ecosystem based fisheries management.

Projects sought should:

• Involve field studies and/or analysis of existing information that improves understanding of the impacts climate change, habitat quality, and other environmental conditions on fish species distribution, abundance, productivity and community structure.
• Include existing observations such as Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoys, satellites, hypoxia profiles, and other data sources.
• Leverage the newly established mainstem Chesapeake Bay acoustic telemetry arrays through new fish tagging studies or use of existing data from
• Develop quantitative relationships that can be reproduced and used to support ecosystem based fishery management through the Chesapeake Bay seasonal summaries and Mid Atlantic State of the Ecosystem Reports.
• -Have clear federal-state management applications linked to fishery management plans for species such as striped bass and federally managed species that could be limited by climate change and habitat quality.

Priority Area 2:

• Innovative methods to assess the effectiveness of nearshore habitat restoration in enhancing fish communities and providing ecosystem resilience in response to climate change

Projects sought should:

• Develop assessment methods and techniques for measuring habitat restoration success (fish species and/or community response) that incorporate climate change.
• Apply new technologies (video, acoustics imaging, telemetry), quantitative analysis, and/or modeling.
• Consider transferability and cost effectiveness of new assessment methods for use by the restoration community.
• Inform planning and design of habitat restoration projects that can provide resilience to climate change for fish communities.

Funding Information

• This solicitation announces that up to approximately $1,500,000 may be available in FY 2023 in award amounts to be determined by the proposals and available funds
• NOAA does not anticipate supporting project proposals requesting federal funding less than $50,000 annually or greater than $150,000 annually.

Project Period

The project start date should not begin before October 1, 2023. Applications should cover a project period between 12 and 36 months.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible applicants are institutions of higher education, non-profit or for-profit organizations, U.S. territories, and state, local and Native American tribal governments. 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. Federal agencies are not allowed to receive funds under this announcement, but may serve as collaborative project partners and may contribute services in kind.

The Department of Commerce/ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (DOC/NOAA) is strongly committed to broadening the participation of historically black colleges and universities, Hispanic serving institutions, tribal colleges and universities, and institutions that work in underserved areas. The NCBO encourages proposals involving any of the above institutions.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.