This award will support functions of the national fish and wildlife foundation (nfwf) for the development of an electronic monitoring and reporting program with multiple funding partners

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) awarded the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) a $7.0 million Cooperative Agreement under the Cooperative Research Program (CFDA 11.472) effective May 1, 2025, through June 30, 2029. This award supports NFWF's development and administration of a 2024 grant program focused on advancing electronic monitoring and reporting (EM/ER) technologies in the nation's marine fisheries sector. The primary deliverable is the creation of a competitive grant program that will solicit and fund proposals from fisheries managers, industry partners, nongovernmental organizations, and other marine stakeholders to support regional EM/ER program development and implementation. NFWF will administer this multi-partner funding initiative to integrate electronic technologies into fisheries data collection, improve the timeliness and accuracy of fisheries data, and enhance scientific knowledge supporting sustainable fisheries management and stock assessments.

As of the initial sub-award documented in this agreement, NFWF distributed funds to Mote Marine Laboratory, Inc., a marine research nonprofit based in Sarasota, Florida, in a sub-grant awarded September 8, 2025. Mote Marine Laboratory is utilizing these funds to integrate electronic monitoring data to improve Gulf reef fish stock assessments by maintaining existing EM efforts, developing long-term abundance indices from collected data, and creating standardized workflows for regular data submission to assessment analysts. This sub-award exemplifies the program's objective of leveraging electronic monitoring capabilities to enhance the accuracy and timeliness of fisheries data for improved management decision-making across marine ecosystems.

Nfwf preserves and restores the nation's native wildlife species and habitats by directing public conservation funds to the most pressing environmental needs and matches those investments with private funds. The foundation's method is to work with a full complement of individuals, foundations, government agencies, nonprofits, and corporations to identify and fund the nation's most intractable conservation challenges. Specifically, this program will develop a 2024 grant program to assist fisheries managers, industry, ngos, and other stakeholders in the nation's marine fisheries with the development and implementation of regional electronic monitoring and reporting programs. This program will advance the nation's sustainable fisheries goals to partner with fishermen and other stakeholders to systematically integrate technology into fisheries data collections and observations. Over the course of the program, nfwf will solicit proposals that advance implementation of promising electronic technologies that improve the timeliness of fisheries data, increase knowledge of the fisheries, and empower fishermen and other citizens to become more actively involved in the data collection process.