NOAA Marine Turtle Conservation for Sustainable U.S. Fisheries
NOAA Fisheries — Pacific Islands Regional Office
$40K–$220K
Protect sea turtles, sustain Pacific fisheries
Federal cooperative agreement funding for projects that monitor and protect endangered marine turtles in Pacific fisheries. Supports on-the-water research, bycatch reduction, and international conservation capacity-building for species like western Pacific leatherbacks and North Pacific loggerheads. Open to small businesses with demonstrable marine research or fisheries expertise.
- Funding type
- Grant
- Level
- Federal
- Amount range
- $40,000 – $220,000
- Realistic amount
- Most awards land in the $80K–$150K range; very few projects hit the $220K ceiling.
- Deadline
- June 30, 2026
- Status
- active
- States
- Nationwide
- Payment model
- reimbursement
Who qualifies
- U.S.-based applicant required
- Eligible types: state/local/tribal governments, 501(c)(3) nonprofits, universities, commercial organizations, small businesses, and individuals
- Federal agencies and federal employees are NOT eligible
- Project must address stewardship of living marine resources linked to U.S. commercial longline fisheries in the Pacific
- SAM.gov UEI registration required before award
- Grants.gov account required for submission
What it covers
Eligible expenses
- Personnel costs for researchers, field biologists, and data analysts
- Vessel charter costs for at-sea research and monitoring
- Field equipment: satellite tags, bycatch mitigation devices, monitoring gear
- Travel to field sites in the Pacific Islands region or Japan
- International collaboration costs with partner country researchers
- Data analysis, reporting, and publication costs
- Indirect/overhead costs at negotiated rate
Ineligible expenses
- Construction or major renovation of facilities
- Research unrelated to marine turtle conservation or U.S. commercial longline fisheries
- Lobbying or political activities
- Profit markup on pass-through subawards beyond negotiated rate
How to apply
-
1
Register in SAM.gov
Obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and complete SAM.gov registration. Allow at least 30 days — this is the most common cause of missed deadlines.
~4 hrs
-
2
Register in Grants.gov
Create a Grants.gov account for your organization. Allow 2+ weeks if new.
~2 hrs
-
3
Develop project narrative
Write a technical proposal describing how your project advances monitoring, bycatch reduction, or capacity-building for western Pacific leatherbacks or North Pacific loggerheads. Include measurable outcomes.
~30 hrs
-
4
Prepare budget and forms
Complete SF-424 (Application for Federal Assistance) and a detailed budget justification. NOAA requires line-item breakdown for field work, personnel, and travel.
~8 hrs
-
5
Submit via Grants.gov
Upload complete application package to Grants.gov under opportunity NOAA-NMFS-PIR-2026-33156. Confirm submission confirmation email.
~2 hrs
NOAA Pacific Islands RO consistently prioritizes projects with a direct linkage to U.S. commercial longline fleet interactions — pure conservation without fisheries connection scores poorly. Previous award data shows international fieldwork partnerships (Japan, Indonesia, Coral Triangle) are favored. Contact Hideyo Hattori (hideyo.hattori@noaa.gov) before submitting — pre-application dialogue is welcomed and often influences scope framing.
Deadline & timing
Submit via Grants.gov before 11:59 PM Eastern. Allow 2+ weeks for Grants.gov registration and 30+ days for SAM.gov registration if not already enrolled.
Programs that stack well
- Noaa Sea Grant
- Sea Grant Fisheries Development
- Boem Environmental Studies
Related programs
Last reviewed 2026. GrantCompass is an independent funding-discovery tool and is not affiliated with any government agency. Always confirm details on the official program page.