Minnesota Sea Grant Helps Sustain Commercial Operations in Major Great Lakes Port

May 4, 2022

Minnesota and Wisconsin Sea Grant programs developed innovative ways to recycle and reuse dredge material. Photo credit: Chris J. Benson

Over 100,000 cubic yards of dredge material are moved each year within the Duluth-Superior Harbor to maintain commercial operations in the Great Lakes. The Duluth-Superior Contained Disposal Facility (CDF) is currently at capacity and a new facility would cost over $35 million.

Minnesota Sea Grant, in conjunction with Wisconsin Sea Grant and the Harbor Technical Advisory Committee, developed a strategy to partner with state agencies responsible for permitting and using dredge materials. Efforts to re-use clean dredge material in other projects around the state have eliminated the need for a new CDF and saves the state and private port interests millions of dollars.

American Lobster

Sea Grant’s American Lobster Initiative awards $5.4 million to further innovative research and outreach in support of the lobster industry and fishing communities

Since 2019, Sea Grant’s American Lobster Initiative has addressed critical knowledge gaps about the American lobster and its fishery facing a dynamic and changing environment. The Initiative supports a regional extension program in the Northeast and a national research competition. Fifteen emerging research projects were selected in 2023 and 2024 for $4.6 million in federal funding by the NOAA National Sea Grant College Program. Coordinated by Maine Sea Grant since 2019, the Northeast lobster extension program was recently renewed with an $840,000 federal award that supports work through 2026.

Sea Grant announces $987, 361 to fund 2024 Young Fishermen’s Career Development projects

Sea Grant announces $987, 361 to fund 2024 Young Fishermen’s Career Development projects Today, NOAA’s National Sea Grant Office is pleased to announce the selection

Sea Grant welcomes 2025 Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship finalists

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Sea Grant College Program is thrilled to announce the finalists for the 2025 class of the Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship. This year, for the first time in program history, all eligible Sea Grant programs are represented by a diverse cohort of 88 early-career professionals who will spend the next year working alongside federal agencies or legislative offices in Washington, D.C., applying their academic expertise to critical marine, coastal and Great Lakes policy issues.