Project Grant NA20OAR0210089

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded Sustainable Seas Technology Inc. a $599,998 two-year Project Grant under the Fisheries Development and Utilization Research and Development Grants and Cooperative Agreements Program (CFDA 11.427). The grant will support testing of subsea buoy retrieval systems in three Southeastern states to provide a detailed performance analysis and economic effectiveness evaluation of ropeless fishing gear configurations. Project partners will test...

Crab Raft Inc. received a $399,828 Project Grant award from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under the Small Business Innovation Research Program to develop ropeless gear for commercial lobster/crabbing and other fishing industries. The two-year award runs from February 1, 2021 through January 31, 2023 and will support the manufacture of ropeless technology that eliminates vertical lines in fishing operations. The NOAA SBIR Program seeks to stimulate technological innovation...

This Cooperative Agreement, awarded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under the Cooperative Research Program (CFDA 11.472), will engage fixed and mobile gear fishermen to participate in gillnet gear redesign activities. Blue Planet Strategies LLC, a marine conservation technology and fisheries research company, will work with engineers from leading ropeless gear manufacturers and fishermen representing gillnet, lobster, and mobile fleets to design new or improved...

This $200,000 Cooperative Agreement awarded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under the Cooperative Research Program (CFDA 11.472) will engage fixed and mobile gear fishermen in the U.S. Virgin Islands to participate in gillnet gear redesign activities. Blue Planet Strategies and leading ropeless gear manufacturers will work with fishermen representing gillnet, lobster, and mobile fleets to design new or improved ropeless gillnet gear based on the fishermen's...

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded a $543,846 Project Grant to the Smelts Sea Mammal Education Learning Technology Society under the Fisheries Development and Utilization Research and Development Grants and Cooperative Agreements Program (CFDA 11.427). The grant will fund Smelts to develop and deliver ropeless lobster fishing gear to three fishermen, one in Maine and two in Massachusetts, between December 2022 and October 2024. Specifically, Smelts will outfit the...

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded Sub Sea Sonics, LLC $399,168 under the Unallied Science Program cooperative agreement to demonstrate that ropeless fishing can be conducted at a scale representative of typical fishing operations while reducing risks to marine mammals. The work will involve establishing a pathway for large-scale adoption of ropeless fishing among Dungeness crab fishers in California through outreach, equipment provision, training, and at-sea trials. Sub...

This Cooperative Agreement award of $433,648 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will support the development and testing of ropeless lift-bag technology to reduce marine mammal entanglements in commercial and recreational fixed gear fishing operations. Working under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and Endangered Species Act, the award recipient Smelts Sea Mammal Education Learning Technology Society will partner with fishermen to conduct trials marking fishing gear and...

This federal Cooperative Agreement award, provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under the Cooperative Research Program (CFDA 11.472), seeks to improve the reliability, longevity, and ease of use of the Lobster Lift ropeless gear system. The $228,304 award to Liftlabs, Inc. will fund engineering upgrades to enhance the system's performance, maintain cost-effectiveness, and encourage market acceptance, based on extensive beta testing and direct engagement with...

This FY24 BREP (Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program) cooperative agreement, awarded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under the Cooperative Research Program (CFDA 11.472), provides $193,391.00 to Sub Sea Sonics, LLC to conduct full-scale testing of their ropeless fishing system with 20 fishers. The objective is to implement this on-demand fishing gear during the spring closure in the California Dungeness crab fishery. To achieve this, the project aims to obtain...

Blue Ocean Gear Inc. was awarded a $399,613 Project Grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under the NOAA Small Business Innovation Research Program to develop a smart buoy device to locate ropeless fishing gear from February 1, 2021 through July 31, 2022. The SBIR Program seeks to stimulate technological innovation in the private sector and strengthen the role of small businesses in meeting federal research and development needs, including commercialization of...