Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association

Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association, doing business as Secoora, is a tax-exempt nonprofit regional ocean observing association that serves as a prime recipient of federal cooperative agreements from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for coastal observation infrastructure, data management, and marine science support services across the southeastern United States.

Secoora operates one of eleven regional associations within the NOAA Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) network, maintaining and expanding a comprehensive sensor and monitoring infrastructure along the Southeast U.S. coastline. The organization is headquartered in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Secoora's federal footprint consists entirely of NOAA cooperative agreements under the IOOS program (CFDA 11.012), accounting for 16 of 18 awards in its recent portfolio; two additional awards come from NASA's Shared Services Center. Across all awards, Secoora has obligated $99.3 million, with 78% positioned as prime recipient agreements and 22% as sub-awards to academic and research institutions.

Secoora's capability portfolio centers on coastal observation infrastructure deployment, maintenance, and recapitalization. The organization operates and expands high-frequency radar systems, water level sensors, surface buoys, subsurface moorings, ocean acidification monitoring equipment, wave buoys, and autonomous gliders. The organization also develops data products and stakeholder services including regional ocean data sharing websites, marine mapping tools, passive acoustic monitoring of North Atlantic Right Whales, webcam-based coastal observation networks (WebCOOS) with AI-driven image analysis for rip current detection and erosion monitoring, and hurricane-intensity forecasting support through glider deployments. Recent prime work includes a $5 million five-year cooperative agreement awarded August 2024 through July 2029 for asset recapitalization and regional capacity building; a $2,029,590 three-year agreement from June 2025 through May 2028 for infrastructure sustainment, repair, expansion, and data management services; and a $2,768,600 disaster recovery cooperative agreement awarded July 2026 through June 2028 under the FY 2026 Disaster Relief Supplemental Act to repair high-frequency radar, water level stations, buoys, and moorings damaged by Hurricane Helene. Secoora also operates sub-awards with the University of South Florida, University of Delaware, and other regional academic institutions on marine biodiversity observation networks, climate change indicator monitoring, and pan-regional infrastructure initiatives.

NOAA accounts for 100% of Secoora's customer concentration by award count, with 16 cooperative agreements representing the full scope of prime activity. Four awards face ultimate completion inside the next twenty-four months, creating recompete exposure in that window. The organization's activity has grown from one award in 2023 to five in 2024, with continued engagement in 2025 and 2026.