Federal Cooperative Agreement Summary

The Gulf of Maine Research Institute received a $431,985 Cooperative Agreement from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under the Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research Coastal Ocean Program (CFDA 11.478), effective June 1, 2026 through May 31, 2030. The award funds a four-year research initiative evaluating the differential protective capacity of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) for Atlantic cod ecotypes in the Gulf of Maine under rapid environmental warming conditions. The research will assess habitat connectivity for spring-spawning and winter-spawning cod ecotypes, which possess genetically isolated populations with distinct adaptive thermal tolerances and seasonal movement patterns. Deliverables include scientific analysis of how existing groundfish closures differentially protect these ecotypes, evaluation of MPA effectiveness under directional climate change, and actionable management recommendations for sustaining this economically and culturally significant species facing combined pressures from historical overfishing and warming waters occurring at three times the global average rate.

This research directly supports NOAA's mission to produce actionable science for ecosystem-based management and coastal community economic resilience. The study integrates advanced analytical methods such as otolith microchemistry analysis with genetic and behavioral ecology approaches to inform evidence-based fisheries management decisions and MPA design optimization for mobile species with complex habitat requirements across variable thermal regimes.