NOAA Sea Grant and NOAA Fisheries Office of Aquaculture are pleased to announce the publication of an agency-wide Programmatic Environmental Assessment that analyzes the potential impacts on the natural and human environment from aquaculture research and development projects funded by federal financial assistance awards. 
 

NOAA Sea Grant is pleased to announce $27 million in projects that will address the prevention and removal of debris in marine and Great Lakes environments throughout the U.S. Using Sea Grant’s partnered approach to bring science together with communities for solutions that work, the projects will support transformational research and the creation of local coalitions to address urgent marine debris prevention and removal needs.
 

Through a joint competition with the U.S. Coastal Research Program (USCRP), ten new projects were selected for a total of $3.9 million in funding to translate research into application for communities. Additionally, Sea Grant programs across the nation received an additional total of $4.2 million in NOAA Sea Grant funds to increase local capacity, engagement, research, and implementation for addressing resilience challenges. 

Contaminants of emerging concern, like pharmaceuticals, cleaning products and microfibers, pose risks to the Nation’s drinking waters and aquatic life, but they are often excluded from monitoring programs and published water quality standards. Two new projects recently funded by Sea Grant aim to enhance research and monitoring efforts for this class of chemicals and materials while strengthening strategies to reduce their presence in aquatic environments.
 

NOAA is developing a Programmatic Environmental Assessment to analyze the potential impacts on the natural and human environment from aquaculture research and development projects funded by federal financial assistance awards. A public comment period for the draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment is open now through December 18, 2022.