FY2025 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) - NOAA Fisheries Citizen Science Funding Opportunity

Agency: DOC NOAA - ERA Production

11.472 -- Unallied Science Program

Archived opportunityLast Updated: May 13, 2026

Description

Citizen science, in which individuals or organizations voluntarily participate in one or more aspects of the scientific process, is one of six NOAA science and technology focus areas. Citizen science has a rich history within NOAA with volunteer observations contributing to our Nation’s prediction and management of weather, oceans, coasts, and fisheries for decades. NOAA supports opportunities for the public to engage with the agency’s mission and address societal needs through science, technology, and innovation. The purpose of this solicitation is to support citizen science projects that can help support federal fisheries stock assessments and climate-ready fisheries management. Funding will prioritize projects that: provide information that can supplement and/or inform stock assessments or increase understanding of current and/or future impacts of climate change on fish stocks and/or fishing communities. For the purpose of this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), all program priorities relating to fishery species, including those related to stock assessments, are for stocks within a federal Fishery Management Plan. These stocks can be found in the stock status tables A-G of the Fishery Stock Status Updates which are updated quarterly. For Fiscal Year 2025, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) anticipates that approximately $600,000 could be made available for the full set of selected citizen science projects that address the areas specified in the Program Priority Section (I.B.1 - I.B.3).

Eligibility

Eligible applicants

Nonprofit

Nonprofits non-higher education with 501(c)(3)
Nonprofits non-higher education without 501(c)(3)
Other Native American tribal organizations

Government

Public and Indian housing authorities
State governments
County governments
Federally recognized Native American tribal governments
Special district governments
City or township governments

Education

Private institutions of higher education
Public and state institutions of higher education
Independent school districts

Business

Small businesses
For-profit organizations other than small businesses

Miscellaneous

Individuals

Additional information

Eligible applicants are individuals, institutions of higher education, other nonprofits, for-profit organizations, foreign public entities or foreign organizations, and state, local, territorial and Indian tribal governments. Federal agencies or instrumentalities are not eligible to receive federal assistance under this notice. The Department of Commerce/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (DOC/NOAA) is strongly committed to broadening the participation of historically black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, tribal colleges and universities, and institutions that work in underserved areas. The Department of Commerce/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (DOC/NOAA) also supports broadening participation from Indigenous communities. NOTE: We strongly encourage all prospective applicants to begin required registrations as early as possible. Completing the required registrations can take six weeks or longer. Submission due dates will not be extended because of registration delays. Submissions received after the due date will be considered late and will not be accepted. Applicant organizations and individuals must register for three different Federal systems prior to submitting an application through Grants.gov (SAM.gov, eRA Commons, and Grants.gov). Applicant organizations and individuals must first register with SAM.gov and obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). After you obtain your UEI, you can complete your Grants.gov and eRA Commons registrations concurrently. See Section IV(G) for detailed instructions on registration requirements. If you do not have access to the internet, please contact the Agency Contacts listed in this NOFO for submission instructions.

Grantor contact information

Description

Laura Oremland Education Program Manager NMFS Office of Science and Technology Phone: 301-427-8162 Email: Laura.Oremland@noaa.gov

Email

work

Laura.Oremland@noaa.gov

Documents

File name	Description	Last updated
Foa_Content_of_NOAA-NMFS-FHQ-2025-26515_4.pdf	NOAA-NMFS-FHQ-2025-26515	Aug 5, 2024 12:55 PM UTC

Link to additional information

Archived: December 4, 2024

Application process

This site is a work in progress. Go to www.grants.gov to apply, track application status, and subscribe to updates.

Award

$--

Program Funding

Expected awards

$75,000

Award Minimum

$200,000

Award Maximum

Funding opportunity number:

NOAA-NMFS-FHQ-2025-26515

Cost sharing or matching requirement:

Funding instrument type:

Cooperative agreement

Opportunity Category:

Discretionary

Opportunity Category Explanation:

Category of Funding Activity:

Science technology and other research and development

Natural resources

Environment

Category Explanation:

History

Version:

Posted date:

August 5, 2024

Archive date:

December 4, 2024