Today, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) announced the 2020 Request for Proposals from the Fishing for Energy Partnership. The NOAA Marine Debris Program is pleased to be part of this collaboration, along with NFWF and Covanta, to provide up to $500,000 in grant funding to support strategies that reduce the impacts of derelict fishing gear on marine and coastal environments and navigational safety. The deadline for full proposals is Tuesday, March 31, 2020. An applicant webinar for more information will be held Tuesday, February 18, 2020 at 2:00 PM ET.
Fishing for Energy launched in 2008 as a partnership among Covanta, the NOAA Marine Debris Program, Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc., and NFWF. Its goals are to provide a no-cost solution for fishers to dispose of old, derelict, or unusable fishing gear, and to reduce the amount of derelict fishing gear in and around our coastal waterways.
This competition prioritizes innovation in gear technology and comprehensive derelict fishing gear management. Proposals under the innovation in gear technology priority should seek to reduce the loss of gear at sea and the potential impacts of lost gear on threatened and endangered marine wildlife and the habitats on which they depend. Proposals under the comprehensive derelict fishing gear management priority should seek to address derelict fishing gear in a more comprehensive way, with the goal to build a sustainable reduction and maintenance program over time.
Grants will target areas in U.S. coastal waters, with a focus on Florida for the comprehensive gear management competition. Priority will be given to areas that have been identified in state or regional plans, such as NOAA marine debris action plans or part of species or habitat conservation plans.
The full announcement can be found at: https://www.nfwf.org/programs/fishing-energy/fishing-energy-2020-request-proposals.