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On Monday, the Department of Commerce and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced a joint effort to administer $600,000 worth of grants to citizen scientists studying climate change. Specifically, the grant fund calls on the American public to conduct research that can help fisheries and fishing communities prepare for the impacts they can expect through climate change.
“Given the impacts of climate change on fisheries, it’s crucial to have a comprehensive understanding of shifts in commercial, recreational and subsistence fishing, as well as their associated communities,” said Janet Coit, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries. “Observations from people living in affected communities, what we call citizen science, has the potential to give us a better understanding of climate impacts and help us navigate those challenges.”
Those $600,000 in grants will be spread out among eight different projects that will be selected through an application process that runs into November 2024. When it’s all said and done anywhere from $75,000 to $200,000 will be awarded to each recipient for projects commencing in 2025 and 2026.
In June 2023, NOAA announced it received $3.3 billion through the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act with large portions of that earmarked for NOAA Fisheries. Climate-Ready Fisheries received $349 million, Data Acquisition and Management was set to receive $145 million, while several other plans for the rest of the $3.3 billion were outlined at the time. For example, $40 million was devoted to a Climate, Ecosystems, and Fisheries Initiative, $82 million was devoted to addressing a North Atlantic Right Whale crisis in some of the region-specific initiatives. The grant funds announced Monday will be provided through NOAA’s Data Acquisition and Management plan, according to the release.
The administration is officially accepting applications from the public until November 11, 2024 through the Grants.gov website with guidelines for proposed projects posted here.
