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Sea Grant’s work addresses a range of coastal and marine challenges through four focus areas: healthy coastal ecosystems, sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, environmental literacy and
Sea Grant announces $19 million in federal funding opportunities to address the prevention and removal of marine debris. These opportunities are a component of nearly $3 billion in targeted investments for NOAA in the areas of habitat restoration, coastal resilience and weather forecasting infrastructure through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
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Contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) are increasingly detected in surface water and groundwater, posing risks to the Nation’s drinking waters and aquatic life. Over the last three years, Sea Grant has been building its CEC-focused research portfolio and supporting projects that serve locally-derived information needs.Â
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For the second time, NOAA’s National Sea Grant College Program and Office of Response and Restoration’s (OR&R) Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) have partnered to competitively solicit and select projects to support innovative all-hazard preparedness, response, and recovery initiatives for coastal communities.
Today, the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) opened a competitive funding opportunity for the Climate Ready Workforce for Coastal States, Tribes, and Territories Initiative to connect people across the country to good-paying jobs, such as landscape technicians, heat health outreach specialists and climate equity officers, that tackle the climate crisis and boost local resilience. NOAA will invest $60 million total from the Inflation Reduction Act for the initiative — a $50 million competitive funding opportunity and $10 million for technical assistance to support applicants and grantees.
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.Â
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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.
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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.
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With funding from Washington Sea Grant, researchers conducted one of the first-ever studies on sediment carbon stock and carbon sequestration rates for restored and natural
Sea run fish – fish that migrate between fresh and saltwater – hold meaning to many New England communities as food, as income, as history and as a key part of a functioning ecosystem. But many unknowns about these fish remain. Across New England, Sea Grant researchers are working to understand how these populations are changing, what habitats are most important to them and how to restore once vibrant runs of sea run fish.Â
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The world’s largest source of fresh water, the Great Lakes, provides drinking water to more than 40 million people in the U.S. and Canada. In the first study of its kind, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering, funded by Wisconsin Sea Grant, have demonstrated that tributary rivers feeding Lake Michigan play an important role in bringing the human-made group of chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the Great Lakes system.
The National Sea Grant College Program and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement have awarded over $795 thousand to Texas Sea Grant and a team of researchers from Texas A&M University and LGL Ecological Research Services to produce information that could lead to the development of a decision-support tool modeling the ecological and economic effects of changing the composition of oil rigs in the gulf.Â
The Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium has announced a new two-year project that will develop a roadmap for Sea Grant water resources initiatives and improve communication and coordination on water resources efforts within the network and among key partners. Karen Bareford, of the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium and The University of Alabama’s Alabama Water Institute, will serve as the Sea Grant Water Resources Lead.
Sea Grant announced three initiatives today, all of which focus on freshwater systems and management. Projects include examining contaminants of emerging concern along the East Coast, mitigating pollution resulting from runoff in the mid-Atlantic, and managing stormwater to reduce flooding in the Great Lakes.Â
NOAA Sea Grant, in collaboration with U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Geological Survey, announces six new partnership positions. The Sea Grant Federal Partnership Liaisons will integrate Sea Grant extension expertise with science, products and services from NOAA labs and other publicly supported scientific research programs. These jointly-funded positions expand on a key component of Sea Grant’s work, extending science to end users and doing so through collaborative partnerships.
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NOAA Sea Grant and the NOAA Marine Debris Program announce the funding of six new, creative projects to tackle marine debris challenges across the country. This year’s projects focus on preventing the introduction of marine debris into marine, coastal and Great Lakes environments.
New research, led by Minnesota Sea Grant Director John A. Downing, demonstrates why keeping local lakes and other waterbodies clean produces cost-effective benefits locally and globally. The authors found that adding up global financial benefits of clean water shows that keeping water clean can help slow climate change, saving trillions of dollars.
Sea Grant is partnering with Swift Engineering on the development of a buoy like none before. Check out this multimedia feature to learn more about Sea Grant and Swift’s partnership on Kelp.
Research is an essential component of Sea Grant’s work in coastal and Great Lakes communities, supporting scientists from hundreds of institutions. Here are just a few of Sea Grant’s recent research publications that are making a splash.
As 2020 draws to a close, Sea Grant is reflecting on its best moments of what has been an especially challenging year. Several Sea Grant projects and people were recently recognized by the Sea Grant Association (SGA) for their exceptional work.Â
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A new study, funded in part by North Carolina Sea Grant, has found the spread of ghost forests across a coastal region of North Carolina may have implications for global warming. Ghost forests are areas where rising seas have killed off freshwater-dependent trees, leaving dead or dying white snags standing in marsh.
Network with Sea Grant colleagues and learn the latest in coastal restoration and management during Restore America’s Estuaries’/Coastal States Organization’s National Coastal & Estuarine Summit, held virtually September 29 – October 1, 2020.
While red abalone were once abundant throughout California, they have long been in decline due to overfishing and environmental changes. California Sea Grant-funded researchers identified conditions that promote consistent recruitment, but also found that prolonged heat stress can cause red abalone recruitment to fail, in a new study published in the Journal of Shellfish Research last month.
The ongoing warming of Lake Michigan increases its susceptibility to Asian carp, in part by reducing the capacity of quagga mussels to act as an ecological barrier against the voracious algae-eating fish, according to a new study supported by Michigan Sea Grant.
Marine debris is a pervasive global problem that touches every corner of our ocean and Great Lakes. Sea Grant, in collaboration with the NOAA Marine Debris Program, recently awarded $350,000 to eight Sea Grant programs for projects that will research, prevent and remove marine debris in US waters.
In a study led by California Sea Grant Extension Specialist Theresa Talley, researchers found that nearly a quarter of fish sampled from a creek that flows into San Diego Bay contain microplastics. This work, which was recently published in the journal PLOS ONE, examined plastics in coastal sediments and three species of fish.
Some 1700 people are expected to descend upon Mobile, Alabama on November 3rd-7th for the 25th Biennial Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation (CERF) Conference. In addition to the Sea Grant scholarship that will be on display through presentations and posters, here is a quick guide to ways in which the National Sea Grant College Program will be present and advancing the conference theme, Responsive | Relevant | Ready.
Revitalization breaks through in this photo essay from National Geographic photographer Peter Essick, in collaboration with the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network, demonstrating the renewed majesty of the Great Lakes.
 Take a visual tour of the restoration and resurgence of Great Lakes tributaries that were designated as Areas of Concern under the 1987 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. These tributaries were pinpointed due to significant pollution and habitat problems, but with funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, Areas of Concern are getting cleaned up and habitat is being restored.
An ecological investment is bringing life back to the aquatic environment. Tourism, recreation, and development are returning to the basin’s rivers, harbors, and lakes.
The Lake Erie Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Seasonal Forecast, produced by NOAA and released with Ohio Sea Grant, gives coastal managers, lake users, and drinking water facility operators a general sense of the potential severity of the upcoming bloom season. NOAA is forecasting a large bloom for 2019, with a severity index greater than 7. The index is based on the bloom’s biomass – the amount of harmful or toxic algae – over a sustained period. Last year’s bloom had a severity of 3.6 and the 2017 bloom had a severity of 8.
From a new designation of a Sea Grant program, to policy-influencing reports, the Sea Grant network kept busy this year!
With so much awesome work happening within Sea Grant, it can be hard to keep up! Here’s a look back at some of Sea Grant highlights you may have missed from this month.
Sea Grant programs in the Great Lakes and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are teaming up to raise awareness about cost-sharing programs available through the Great Lakes Legacy Act for sediment cleanup efforts. A new video and social media campaign explain.Â
Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Laboratory will host a media briefing to announce NOAA’s 2018 Harmful Algal Bloom forecast for Lake Erie on Thursday, July 12.
Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin Sea Grant programs along with NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management and many tribal and local partners are working together to increase community awareness about the cultural and ecological importance of native wild rice.Â
Even small amounts of running water—less than a gallon per second—could mean the difference between life or death for juvenile coho salmon in coastal California streams, according to a new study published in the journal Transactions of the American Fisheries Society.
Originally posted at http://seagrant.mit.edu/press_releases.php?nwsID=656 MIT Sea Grant has selected four research projects for funding from our annual request for proposals. The four projects are described
Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant-funded research finds plastic microfibers in the water, sediment and fish of three major rivers that flow into Lake Michigan.
The Mid-Atlantic Sea Grant Programs (MASGP), in partnership with the NOAA Ocean Acidification Program (OAP), are pleased to announce the availability of Ocean Acidification (OA) Graduate Research Fellowships for the two-year period covering the 2018 and 2019 academic years.
USC Sea Grant has worked with communities in southern California for over six years on climate adaptation planning. They analyzed their efforts and published the analysis in the Cities and the Environment Journal.
Knowledge, Spread Wisely:Â Sea Grant Evaluation Shows National Weather Service Forecast is Assisting Farmers in Protecting Wisconsin Waters
New Minnesota Sea Grant study suggests that using water clarity as an indicator of water quality may not necessarily work in all regions.
To fill a knowledge gap about the shallow seafloor right off Rhode Island’s coast, Rhode Island Sea Grant invested in the development of BayMap, a collection of marine habitat maps for Narragansett Bay and surrounding coastal ponds for use by resource managers and scientists.
Oregon Sea Grant supported researchers place bags of oysters on different amounts of empty shells to see if the shells help the oysters grow better in acidified waters.
A survey funded by Oregon Sea Grant found that more than 80 percent of respondents from the west coast shellfish industry agree that ocean acidification is having negative consequences on production.
Puerto Rico Sea Grant created a video to promote Healthy Coastal Ecosystems.
The Aua transect on Tutuila island in the remote island territory of American Samoa recently celebrated its 100th anniversary, and scientists from throughout the region traveled to the island to celebrate and conduct the 100th year transect survey.
Removal of polluted sediment from lake and river bottoms can be costly and time consuming. Ohio Sea Grant researchers are developing a new method using ultrasound and chemical agents, potentially making pollutant clean up faster and less costly.
A Great Lakes Sea Grant Research Project Leads to Bigger Questions and NSF Funding
“We did this project specifically as a service to local municipalities to get them accurate data to utilize, if they’re going to go with the approach of seeding and growing shellfish as part of their water quality management plans.”
The S.C. Sea Grant Consortium provides multiple opportunities for people of all ages to learn about the challenge of marine debris as well as ways to do something about it.
This guide features strategies for local governments, conservation principles and neighborhood site design, stormwater best management practices and local case studies.
Fish kills and vanishing razor clams alarm the Quinault; tribal fishermen and elders join in Washington Sea Grant’s investigation of devastating coastal hypoxia.
As part of a growing effort for collaboration between the National Weather Service and Sea Grant, NOAA will hire an Integrated Water Extension Liaison housed at the National Water Center.
South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium funded research on microplastics. The graduate student involved with the project used the findings to inform a new educational program for elementary school students.Â
Salmon conservation achieved a major victory this October as construction finished on a fish passage and stream restoration project in Mill Creek, California. After California
Wisconsin Sea Grant has worked with partners for more than 30 years to bring back a chain of barrier islands in Green Bay, Lake Michigan. It’s paying off. Rare birds are now making the emerging islands a home.
South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium and National Estuarine Research Reserves partner to cultivate learning through artistic expression and hands-on ecosystem restoration.
Forty five large whales died in the western Gulf of Alaska in the summer of 2015, creating a scientific mystery. Though the exact cause may never be determined, the deaths may have been linked to unusually warm waters.
Charlotte Stevenson, Science Writer, USC Sea Grant It was hard for many West Coasters not to feel like they were part of an Armageddon-like movie
The National Sea Grant Law Center is supporting the protection of aquatic ecosystems through a multi-state initiative that is transforming aquatic invasive species management in the western United States.
NOAA’s Ocean Acidification Program (OAP) and the Northeast Sea Grant Programs joined together to prioritize and fund new research on how ocean acidification is affecting marine life including lobsters, clams, oysters, mussels and sand lance that are so important to the Northeast region.
Washington Sea Grant student works with the Crab Team, a citizen science program dedicated to preemptively detecting invasive European green crab by monitoring pocket estuaries for signs of settlement.
Some lawn care practices intended to get that lush green grass can affect nearby rivers and bays, but new research indicates that homeowners in the Northeast are willing to make changes to their lawn care routine to help protect the environment.
S.C. Sea Grant Consortium leads mapping effort after October 2015 floods revealed need for better coordination of available data.
Two Florida Sea Grant agents are developing water quality monitoring projects in South Florida that enlist residents and volunteers on the front lines of citizen science.
Recreational boating is a popular summertime activity in many states that can impact water quality. New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium works with boaters and marinas to minimize these impacts and assist businesses who wish to implement best management practices.
North Carolina creates synergy between its Sea Grant and Water Resources Research Institute programs.
Vermont communities were devastated by flooding during extreme storm events. The state has prioritized the use of green stormwater infrastructure. Lake Champlain Sea Grant is working with partners to help communities become more flood resilient.Â
Thousands of samples from the Deepwater Horizon spill are available to the wider scientific community.  Information about the samples, and results of their prior analyses can be found through the Deepwater Horizon  DIVER data platform. Requests for samples must be received by June 10, 2016.
Lake Champlain Sea Grant sponsored a trip to the University of New Hampshire Stormwater Research Center. The information being utilized by researchers and government agencies in Vermont, New York, and New Hampshire.
Florida Sea Grant agent, Maia McGuire, receives NOAA grant to raise awareness about tiny pieces of plastic that are causing a big problem in Florida waters.
Sea Grant has extension agents at multiple NOAA laboratories across the country. Rochelle Sturtevant is Sea Grant's Great Lakes Regional Extension Specialist and is based at the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Michigan.
USC Sea Grant is building capacity for a community network to monitor harmful algal blooms in Southern California. HABwatch trains citizen scientists, contributes valuable data to research, and connects scientists with the community.
Texas Sea Grant-funded research is exploring how much everyday products enter Texas bays and estuaries, and the effects that such products have on wildlife.
Students study the essential parts of the Cape American Beach Grass Ammophila breviligulata and discover the basic necessities for plant survival.
Maryland Sea Grant supported a research project to develop a Nutrient Loading Model for the Delmarva Peninsula. Other collaborators and funders on the effort included Sea Grant programs in Delaware and Virginia.
Maryland’s coastal wetlands provide diverse ecosystem services for the Chesapeake Bay region, reduce flooding risks, and help to improve local water quality. These natural communities, however, also face threats from rising sea levels and invasive species. Of particular concern is the non-native reed Phragmites australis, which has displaced native marsh grasses in many Mid-Atlantic wetlands in recent decades. To inform the management of this invasive reed, Maryland Sea Grant funded research to better understand how climate change might affect the growth of Phragmites populations around Chesapeake Bay.
The introduction of aquatic invasive species to Chesapeake Bay, transported through the ballast water of cargo ships or by live animal and plant trades, can bring ecologically harmful consequences. To safeguard local ecosystems, Maryland Sea Grant supports programs that seek to prevent the establishment of new invasive species in the region.
Maryland and other states in the Chesapeake Bay watershed are currently engaged in a multi-billion dollar effort to improve water quality by meeting Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) targets for nutrients and sediments. To accomplish this, municipalities around the region need help from trained and dedicated volunteers who can implement watershed restoration practices. Such practices include stormwater management tools like rain gardens and barrels.
In May 2014, Maryland Sea Grant, in partnership with the NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), held a workshop to explore the use of remote sensing for detecting harmful algal blooms in the Chesapeake Bay region.
This site discusses both the Florida Clean Marina Program, the Florida Clean Vessel Act Program and the available funding opportunities.
Working with Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and local anglers, Pennsylvania Sea Grant involves high school students from Central Career and Technical School in building structures to improve fish habitat in Lake Erie.
Harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie impact drinking water, wildlife, and tourism. Ohio Sea Grant and Ohio State's Stone Lab are working with a wide range of partners to protect the health and well-being of lakeshore residents and the ecosystem.
North Carolina Sea Grant works with citizen scientists to collect data on an invasive aquatic plant and with state partners to raise awareness on the threat that the plant presents in North Carolina.
” Everyone needs to be informed about weather and consequently wave dynamics on the lake and in the nearshore zone.”
Ohio Sea Grant and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources will expand the Ohio Clean Marinas and Clean Boater programs statewide in 2015.
With the summer season fast approaching, New York Sea Grant offers safe boating tips and gives a sneak peak at its related campaign, which, now in its ninth season, has reached over a half-a-million people.
To reduce the spread of aquatic invasive species, a project led by Maryland Sea Grant educated fishers to properly dispose of the seaweed packaging used to ship blood worms.
Once an important waterway to reach the French Quarter, then forgotten, Bayou St. John has been restored and become a destination for many New Orleanians.
A large percentage of South Carolina’s economy is driven by the popularity of beaches as tourist destinations. Hypoxic (low-oxygen) conditions have been documented in the nearshore coastal waters of Long Bay, South Carolina, during summer months over the past several years. To maintain a healthy environment for recreation it is necessary to assess the impacts of land use on groundwater discharge to the area. Researchers measured radon activities of shallow beachface groundwater and nearshore bottom waters to estimate mixing rates and submarine groundwater discharge in Long Bay. They successfully developed a mixing model based on these measurements, which helped determine that natural phenomena such as limited mixing and submarine groundwater discharge (both previously overlooked) can significantly influence nearshore water quality and lead to hypoxic conditions. This model can be applied to other types of marine environments to help determine the causes of hypoxia, and as such could be a valuable tool in maintaining coastal water quality, especially in highly developed (urban) areas.
Many coastal decision-makers lack the expertise, guidance, and resources to implement low impact development (LID) techniques for mitigating stormwater impacts. The S.C. Sea Grant Consortium assisted with the development of an LID manual specific to coastal South Carolina that provides guidance on overcoming barriers to implementing best management practices. The project team organized stakeholder workshops, research roundtables, and provided technical assistance with the development of the guide.
Lake Champlain Sea Grant is partnering with organizations across Vermont to help towns plan and prepare for climate change and flood resiliency.
A handbook to help Alaska communities, scientists, and agencies implement best practices for new and continuing community-based monitoring programs.
Sea Grant funded-researchers from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science may have found a positive side to an oyster parasite and its impact on vibrios bacteria.
Zooplankton are a key food source in the marine food web and can contain the larvae of commercially important species, such as oysters, crabs and various finfish. Delaware Sea Grant funded researchers are using a new technology to analyze and quantify zooplankton in the Delaware Bay.
Rockfish were overfished in the 1970s and 1990s, and Rockfish Conservation Areas were put in place. Little is known about the species distribution within the conservation areas now. A team put together by California Sea Grant and The Nature Conservancy hopes to better understand the distribution so that resource managers may allow for more fishing opportunities.
Washington Sea Grant funded scientists help track down a virus involved in what may be the largest marine wildlife epidemic ever seen. Meanwhile, Washington Sea Grant monitors see a surge of healthy young sea stars.
Microbeads have drawn a lot of public and political attention since 2012, when researchers from New York and Wisconsin discovered millions of the tiny particles in several Great Lakes. But this new study suggests microfibers may be an even larger concern in at least a few areas.
The permitting processes for oyster restoration projects can be challenging to navigate, as a maze of state and federal programs may apply. A new legal research report, released by the National Sea Grant Law Center and the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Legal Program, hopes to make these processes a little more easy to navigate by providing an overview of the permitting programs in 21 states.
Woods Hole Sea Grant is evaluating how the growing and harvesting of shellfish can reduce nitrogen loading and improve water quality in Cape Cod coastal bays.