NOAA Fisheries announces approximately $10 million available to support fisheries projects through the 2017 Saltonstall-Kennedy (SK) Grant competition.

The fiscal year 2017 Saltonstall-Kennedy (SK) Grant Program application solicitation includes a new, required, early "pre-proposal" process that will reduce the burden of preparing full proposals on projects that do not meet program criteria. To maximize time and familiarity, NOAA Fisheries will conduct at least two public webinars for interested stakeholders to walk through the process and answer any questions. 

The pre-proposal process is intended to provide an indication to potential applicants of the technical merit and the relevancy of the proposed project to the SK program before preparing a full proposal. Pre-proposals for the 2017 SK solicitation are due on September 20, 2016, and should be sent via email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The solicitation for full proposals will close on December 9, 2016.

The goal of the SK program is to fund projects that address the needs of fishing communities, optimize economic benefits by building and maintaining sustainable fisheries, and increase other opportunities to keep working waterfronts viable. The 2017 SK solicitation seeks applicants that fall into seven priorities:

• Marine Aquaculture
• Fishery Data Collection
• Techniques for reducing bycatch and other adverse impacts
• Adapting to climate change and other long term ecosystem change
• Promotion, development, and marketing
• Socio-economic research
• Territorial science

In addition to the new "pre-proposal" process, NOAA Fisheries made a number of modifications to the proposal review process in 2016 to improve transparency and participation by external expertise. Starting in 2016, the eight fishery management councils and three state marine fishery commissions selected external parties to assist in identifying priority focus areas for funding, as well as serve on the review panel process. Also in 2016, NOAA gave broader consideration to projects focused on sustainable economies, business innovations and opportunities as well as science and research.

The 2017 priority focus areas remain the same as 2016 with the additional focus area aimed at improving the quality and quantity of fishery information from the U.S. territories, including American Samoa, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealths of Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico.

For a full listing of the priority focus areas, the pre-proposal process and all other relevant information and how to apply, please visit our SK Grants page or go to www.grants.gov for the Federal Funding (FFO# NMFS-FHQ-2017-2004980)