Sea Grant provides a variety of funding opportunities based on its work in four focus areas: Healthy Coastal Ecosystems, Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture, Resilient Coastal Communities and Economies, and Environmental Literacy and Workforce Development. Funding opportunities include National Strategic Investments, Special Projects, focused opportunities through each of the 34 Sea Grant programs, and more. See below for more information on current and previous funding opportunities. Most funding opportunities require applying through or to one of the 34 Sea Grant programs.
See Inside Sea Grant for forms and additional guidance where applicable. Questions about funding opportunities should be directed to oar.hq.sg.competitions@noaa.gov.
Current National Funding Opportunities
Students should submit applications to a Sea Grant Program and not submit information directly into grants.gov. Student applications are due to Sea Grant Programs by 5:00 pm local time on January 26, 2021. Sea Grant Programs must transmit the application via Grants.gov by 11:59 pm, Eastern Time February 17, 2021. Both portions of this competition are now under one funding number.
Population and Ecosystem Dynamics Federal Funding Opportunity - NOAA-OAR-SG-2021-2006728
The NMFS-Sea Grant Fellowship Program in Population and Ecosystem Dynamics expects to award at least four new Ph.D. Fellowships in 2021 to students who are interested in careers related to marine ecosystem and population dynamics, with a focus on modeling and managing systems of living marine resources. The emphasis will be on the development and implementation of quantitative methods for assessing marine ecosystems, for assessing the status of fish, invertebrate, and other targeted species stocks and for assessing the status of marine mammals, seabirds, and other protected species.
Marine Resource Economics Federal Funding Opportunity - NOAA-OAR-SG-2021-2006728
The NMFS-Sea Grant Fellowship Program in Marine Resource Economics expects to award at least one new Ph.D. Fellowship in 2021 to students who are interested in careers related to the development and implementation of quantitative methods for assessing the economics of the conservation and management of living marine resources.
The Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium (MASGC) is accepting proposal submissions to estimate the abundance of greater amberjack in the U.S. waters in the Gulf of Mexico (GoMEX) and South Atlantic (SA) regions. This funding opportunity is to develop additional data sources, assessment approaches and knowledge to improve agency and agency-independent estimates of the abundance of greater amberjack throughout the greater amberjack’s range. The successful applicant(s) will determine the absolute abundance of the greater amberjack by habitat type, including artificial reefs, natural reefs and unclassified habitats.
MASGC anticipates funding one or more proposal(s). The total funding available for the competition is $9 million plus a non-federal match requirement of $2.7 million (30%). Funds for this research competition are provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Sea Grant College Program and NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).
The principal investigator (PI) of a proposal must be located at a research university located within a coastal state extending from Virginia to Texas. Co-investigators, including state agencies, non-governmental organizations and the fishing industry, may be in any U.S. region. Federal partners may also participate as uncompensated collaborators.
Proposal instructions are available in the funding request.
Register for an informational meeting on January 15, 2021, 1-2:30 pm CT, to discuss this funding opportunity.
Letters of Intent due date: February 5, 2021
Full proposals due date: April 9, 2021
Applications must be submitted to the state Sea Grant program by February 19, 2021. Applicants are strongly encouraged to reach out to the Sea Grant Program in their state one to two months prior to the state application deadline to receive application support and provide notification of an intent to apply. The applicant should allow sufficient time to schedule an interview with the eligible Sea Grant program at the program’s request. Grant announcement: NOAA-OAR-SG-2022-2006631
State programs: please submit the full Knauss packages through Grants.gov by April 02, 2021 at 11:59 PM EDT
The National Sea Grant Office (NSGO) and the Ocean Acidification Program (OAP) are funding a joint competition to fund proposals that seek to establish, continue, and/or expand collaborations between researchers and the shellfish aquaculture industry. Specifically, applications to this competition should utilize new or existing research/industry partnerships to study how ocean and coastal acidification in combination with other stressors impacts shellfish aquaculture. Applications must include at least one researcher and one shellfish grower acting as co-Principal Investigators (co-PIs), and the proposed work must utilize a co-production of knowledge framework.
Eligible applicants are United States institutions of higher education; other nonprofits; commercial organizations; state, local, and tribal governments.
Total funding for this competition includes up to $2,000,000 in federal funds to support 2-6 projects. Each project will be funded at the approximate level of $100,000 - $300,000 per year for 1-3 years.
Read formal announcement on Grants.gov NOAA-OAR-SG-2021-2006704
Read answers to frequently asked questions (PDF)
See slides from the Nov. 9 informational webinar (PDF)
Letters of Intent due date: December 15, 2020
Full proposals due date: March 16, 2021
Current State/Local Funding Opportunities
See details on the State Sea Grant Program Funding Opportunities page
Current Regional Funding Opportunities
No opportunities at this time.
Current Student Opportunities
See our pages on student opportunities.
Current Opportunities from Sea Grant Partners
No opportunities at this time.