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Courtesy of NAA:

The goal of the NOAA Fisheries Saltonstall-Kennedy grant program is to fund projects that address the needs of fishing communities, optimize economic benefits by building and maintaining sustainable fisheries, and increase other opportunities to keep working waterfronts viable.

The projects fall into two priority areas: Promotion, Development, and Marketing; and Science or Technology that Promotes Sustainable U.S. Seafood Production and Harvesting. For the 2023 grant, NOAA has announced that 40 projects have been recommended for over $11 million in funding.

Twelve aquaculture specific projects were recommended for $3.55 million in funding: 

• Sustainable Seaweed Farming: Producing Reliable, Timely and Cost-Effective Kelp Seed while Reducing Reliance and Impacts on Wild Populations
• Toward resolving wild sea scallop (P. magellanicus) larval spatial and temporal distribution along the Maine coast in support of developing scallop aquaculture
• Understanding pathogen dynamics in shellfish nurseries as a basis for expanding the Regional Shellfish Seed Biosecurity Program to nursery settings
• Diversifying Northern New England’s Seaweed Industry by Integrating Nori into Sugar Kelp Farming Equipment and Practices
• Exploring mutually-beneficial production and marketing strategies for emerging wild and aquaculture quahog industries in Maine
• Refining Aquaculture Methods for Kumu and Establishing Preliminary Tag and Recapture Efforts Utilizing Hawaii’s Fishing Community
• Community-Based Queen Conch (Aliger gigas) Aquaculture in Puerto Rico for Restoration and Sustainable Seafood
• Development and Optimization of Farmer-Run Test Kits to Improve Oyster Safety
• Feasibility analysis for artisanal native oyster mariculture supply chain in Culebra, Puerto Rico
• Development of Technologies using Black Soldier Fly Larvae to Efficiently Convert Seafood Processing Wastes into Value-Added Marine Feed Ingredients
• Expanding Cultivated Oyster Mariculture in Texas
• Development of Hatchery Technology and Juvenile Grow-Out Techniques for Warty Sea Cucumbers

For more information about the S-K grant and the recommended projects, visit NOAA Fisheries.