grants

The NOAA Marine Debris Program is proud to announce our FY 2021 Marine Debris Research notice of funding opportunity. Projects awarded through the research grant competition will investigate and identify the critical input pathways for marine debris introduction into the coastal zone (shoreline or nearshore), including evaluation of appropriate simultaneous pathways of riverine transport downstream, surface runoff, stormwater discharge, and wind-driven transport, as well as degradation and fragmentation of debris during transport.

Following a highly competitive review process, the NOAA Marine Debris Program is pleased to announce the 23 recipients of our 2020 Removal and Prevention Grant awards totaling approximately $2.7 million in federal funds. Federal funding is matched by non-federal contributions, bringing the total investment of these marine debris projects to approximately $5.9 million. 

The NOAA Marine Debris Program is proud to announce our FY 2021 Marine Debris Removal notice of funding opportunity. Projects awarded through the removal grant competition will create long-term, quantifiable ecological habitat improvements for NOAA trust resources, with priority consideration for efforts targeting derelict fishing gear, abandoned and derelict vessels, and other medium- and large-scale debris.

Following a highly competitive review process, the NOAA Marine Debris Program is pleased to announce the 14 recipients of our 2019 removal and research grant awards totaling approximately $2.7 million in federal funds.

Research is an important part of our fight against marine debris. It allows us to advance our understanding of how debris impacts the environment, and improves our ability to target and address the problem in the future. Recent research has shown that marine debris, such as microplastics (plastics less than 5mm in size), can be ingested by fish and species that filter their food out of the water. In order to improve our understanding of marine debris, the NOAA Marine Debris Program supports original and hypothesis-driven research projects which focus on the potential risk to wildlife from debris exposure and ingestion.

Lost and discarded fishing gear is hazardous, and can be a difficult marine debris problem to address. Once lost, nets, lines, and traps can entangle wildlife, create major hazards to navigation, and damage sensitive and important habitats. Because gear can have few identifying characteristics, it can be difficult to track its location, or find its source. In order to reduce the impacts to coastal habitats from derelict fishing gear (DFG), the NOAA Marine Debris Program funds projects that remove and prevent the continued impacts of fishing debris.

The presence of marine debris creates numerous problems for the environment, marine life, and humans. Large marine debris presents its own unique challenges, threatening the ocean, coasts, and waterways by obstructing navigational channels, causing harm to important habitat, and diminishing commercial and recreational activities. Removing large debris requires significant financial and technical resources.

The NOAA Marine Debris Program works with partners across the country to address marine debris through several nationwide, competitive funding opportunities annually. Over the next few weeks, we will be highlighting community-based marine debris removal and research projects that were awarded grants during the past year.