Funding Opportunity: NOAA Sea Grant Aquaculture Research Program

The Federal Funding Opportunity has been announced for the NOAA Sea Grant Aquaculture Research Program 2014 competition. Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-OAR-SG-2014-2003987; Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 11.417, Sea Grant SupportPlease click here for a direct link to the application.Deadlines:Pre-proposals must be received by electronic mail to the National Sea Grant Office by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on February 21, 2014.Full proposals are due from applicants to the state Sea Grant Program by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on May 5, 2014.State Sea Grant Programs must forward all full proposal applications to Grants.gov by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on May 30, 2014.Applications received after the closing dates and times will not be accepted.Funding Opportunity Description: Depending on the availability of funds, NOAA Sea Grant expects to have up to $3,000,000 available for a national competition to fund new FY 2014 marine aquaculture research projects. This is part of the overall plan to support the development of environmentally and economically sustainable ocean, coastal, or Great Lakes aquaculture. Topical priorities for this FY 2014 competition are, briefly: 1) Research to inform pending, regulatory decisions on the local, state, or federal level leading to an information product– such as a tool, technology, template, or model– needed to make final decisions on a specific question regarding impacts of aquaculture; 2) Public-private research partnerships that address specific, current problems that limit a steady supply of marine or Great Lakes fingerlings; and 3) Social and/or economic research targeted to understand aquaculture issues in a larger context. Applicants must describe how their proposed work will rapidly and significantly advance U.S. marine aquaculture development in the short-term (1-2 years after project completion).This Federal Funding Opportunity includes information on application and criteria for aquaculture research proposals requesting a maximum of $500,000 in total federal funding for up to a two-year period. Matching funds are required. Awards are anticipated to start no later than September 1, 2014. Additional proposals from this competition may be selected for funding in the next fiscal year, subject to the availability of funds.