Marine Debris Program

To provide grants and cooperative agreements to help identify, determine sources of, assess, reduce, and prevent marine debris and its adverse impacts on the marine environment and navigation safety within the coastal United States, territories, and Freely Associated States. Awards that are made under this program from annual appropriations, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) Supplemental Appropriations Act, Inflation Reduction Act, and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, American Relief Act will remove and assess marine debris from coastal habitats, including through interception technologies; explore non-regulatory incentives to reduce the quantity and impacts of derelict fishing gear, abandoned and derelict vessels, and other large debris; support regional coordination among marine debris practitioners, states, and tribes; conduct outreach and education activities aimed at preventing marine debris; develop interagency plans to respond to “severe marine debris events” and other natural disasters; assess debris composition, volume, and trajectory in different marine and coastal ecosystems; conduct research and development on marine debris impacts and distribution; and estimate the potential impacts of marine debris on coastal resources, habitats, and economies.

Eligible applicants for assistance typically include 1) state and local governments including public universities and colleges; 2) U.S. territorial agencies and organizations; 3) federally and State-recognized Indian Tribal governments; 4) private universities and colleges; 5) private / commercial for-profit organizations; and 6) nonprofit research and conservation organizations.

This program benefits Federal, State, and interstate marine resource conservation and management agencies; U.S. Territories and Freely Associated States; U.S. and foreign commercial and recreational fishing industries; conservation organizations, academic institutions; international and Indian Tribal treaties; private and public research groups; consumers; and the general public.

Proposals are evaluated by the appropriate NOAA subject matter experts, and are subject to review for technical merit, soundness of design, competency of the applicant to perform the proposed work, potential contribution of the project to national or regional goals, and appropriateness and reasonableness of proposed costs. Projects approved for funding will be submitted to the NOAA Grants Management Division and through any other agency or Departmental review processes that may be deemed necessary.

Refer to the federal funding opportunities posted on www.grants.gov for specific submission and deadline information.