Commercial Fishing Occupational Safety Research Cooperative Agreement (U01)
🏛 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - ERA (HHS-CDC-HHSCDCERA)
Can you apply?
This grant is for organizations and individuals conducting research to improve occupational safety in commercial fishing. Eligible applicants include academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, fishing businesses, maritime companies, and independent researchers with expertise in commercial fishing safety. Proposed projects must address vessel design, emergency equipment, monitoring systems, communication devices, or weather detection technology.
Geographic scope includes the United States and U.S. waters where commercial fishing occurs. Cost-sharing is required as part of the application. Cooperative agreements allow NIOSH to work actively with awardees on research planning and implementation.
⚖️ Cost sharing / matching required — applicants must contribute their own funds.
This grant is for organizations and individuals conducting research to improve occupational safety in commercial fishing. Eligible applicants include academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, fishing businesses, maritime companies, and independent researchers with expertise in commercial fishing safety. Proposed projects must address vessel design, emergency equipment, monitoring systems, communication devices, or weather detection technology.
Geographic scope includes the United States and U.S. waters where commercial fishing occurs. Cost-sharing is required as part of the application. Cooperative agreements allow NIOSH to work actively with awardees on research planning and implementation.
Program description
The Fishing Safety Research Grant Program established by The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-281), as amended by the Howard Coble Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-281), is intended to provide funding to individuals in academia, members of non-profit organizations and businesses involved in fishing and maritime matters, and other persons with expertise in commercial fishing safety. The funding will be used to support research on improving the occupational safety of workers in the commercial fishing industry. This includes:
improving vessel design;
developing and improving emergency and survival equipment;
enhancing vessel monitoring systems;
improving communication devices, de-icing technology, and severe weather detection.
In order to support and administer the grant program, the Coast Guard and NIOSH signed a Memorandum of Understanding on May 17, 2018. While the Coast Guard, along with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), provides regulatory oversight for safety and health matters within the commercial fishing industry, NIOSH is an agency operating under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with the mission of generating new knowledge in occupational safety and health and transferring that knowledge into practice to prevent worker injury, illness and death. NIOSH conducts and funds scientific research, develops methods to prevent occupational hazards, develops guidance and authoritative recommendations, translates scientific knowledge into products and services, disseminates information, identifies factors underlying work-related disease and injury and responds to requests for workplace health hazard evaluations.
NIOSH has an extensive history of conducting research to understand and to reduce hazards in the commercial fishing industry. This research has largely been conducted in close collaboration with crews, industry and the US Coast Guard. To learn more about NIOSH’s work in commercial fishing safety and health, visit https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/fishing/default.html.
Research objectives supported by NIOSH include, but are not limited to, the following:
identification and investigation of the relationships between hazardous working conditions and associated occupational injuries and fatalities;
development of more sensitive means of evaluating hazards at work sites;
development of methods for measuring early markers of injuries and fatalities;
development of new protective equipment and engineering control technology to reduce work-related injuries and fatalities;
development of work practices that reduce the risks of occupational hazards; and
evaluation of the technical feasibility or application of a new or improved occupational safety procedure, method, technique, or system, including assessment of economic and other factors that influence their diffusion and successful adoption in workplaces.
Who can apply
Eligible applicants
- 501(c)(3) Public Charity
- City / Municipal Government
- County Government
- Nonprofits
- Private University
- Public Authority
- Public K-12 School
- Public University
- Small Business (SBA-defined)
- Special District
- State Government
- Tribal Nation
- Tribal Organization
Details
This grant is for organizations and individuals conducting research to improve occupational safety in commercial fishing. Eligible applicants include academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, fishing businesses, maritime companies, and independent researchers with expertise in commercial fishing safety. Proposed projects must address vessel design, emergency equipment, monitoring systems, communication devices, or weather detection technology.
Geographic scope includes the United States and U.S. waters where commercial fishing occurs. Cost-sharing is required as part of the application. Cooperative agreements allow NIOSH to work actively with awardees on research planning and implementation.
How to apply
Application links
Key dates & requirements
Required documents
- CDC/NIOSH Application Form (check NIOSH Funding Opportunity guidance)
- Research Project Narrative
- Budget and Budget Justification
- Evidence of Cost-Sharing Commitment
- Letters of Support from Industry Partners
- Organizational Capacity Documentation
- Curriculum Vitae(s) of Key Personnel
Program contact
- 👤 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - ERA
- 📧 bgarrett@cdc.gov
- 📞 404-498-2015
Funding track record
Recent awards under CFDA 93.262 from the last 3 years — real organizations that won funding through this same program.
Top 10 Largest Recent Awards
-
$119,835,396
-
$84,316,965
-
$30,624,479
-
$30,493,512
-
$29,920,153
-
$29,848,766
-
$29,746,441
-
$29,626,667
-
$29,621,475
-
$29,507,359
Top States by Funding
- NY 21 awards $226.0M
- MD 3 awards $119.8M
- CA 5 awards $104.6M
- MA 6 awards $78.4M
- CO 5 awards $74.1M
Source: USAspending.gov — federal spending transparency. Data covers last 3 years.
Funding history
Annual funding for this program — Federal obligations (CFDA 93.262). How funding has trended year over year.
| 2024 | $130,993,880 | |
| 2025 | $127,849,749 | |
| 2026 est. | $113,003,523 |
FAQ
Who can apply for this grant?
Academic institutions, nonprofits, fishing businesses, maritime organizations, and independent researchers with commercial fishing safety expertise are eligible. You must have relevant expertise or institutional capacity to conduct research.
What research topics are supported?
Projects on vessel design, emergency/survival equipment, monitoring systems, communication devices, de-icing technology, and weather detection are supported. Research investigating hazards, occupational injuries, and protective technologies qualifies.
Is cost-sharing required?
Yes, this grant requires cost-sharing from applicants. You must contribute resources or matching funds to supplement federal funding.
What is the funding range?
Awards typically range from $150,000 to $975,000. The total funding pool is $3,000,000, so competitiveness depends on project scope and review scores.
When is the deadline?
The deadline is January 31, 2028. This is a fixed deadline; rolling submission is not available.
💡 Tips for applicants
- Demonstrate existing partnerships with the fishing industry, Coast Guard, or NIOSH. Collaboration strengthens applications.
- Frame your research as addressing a specific, documented occupational hazard in commercial fishing. Use injury/fatality data to support need.
- Show how your findings will be adopted by the fishing industry. Include plans for dissemination and technical feasibility assessment.
- Include letters of support from fishing organizations, vessel operators, or maritime stakeholders. External validation matters.
- Budget clearly for both research activities and cost-sharing contributions. Be explicit about matching funds or in-kind resources.
⚠️ Common mistakes
Weak industry engagement. Applications without documented partnerships or input from fishing crews and operators often lack credibility. Vague safety objectives. Proposals that don't clearly specify which occupational hazard is being addressed or how research translates to practice tend to score poorly. Insufficient cost-sharing documentation. Failing to clearly identify and budget matching funds or in-kind contributions weakens the application.
Similar grants
- OPEN 27-0343-10 FFY27 Local Agency General Non-Enforcement — Illinois Department of Transportation
- ROLLING Annual Agency Threshold Application Applicants for Funding Start Here — Texas City of Austin - Austin Public Health
- ROLLING Preservation Trust Fund – Easement Assistance – (PTF-EA) — Virginia Outdoors Foundation
- CLOSED Virginia’s Black Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) Grant – FY26 — Virginia The Virginia Department of Historic Resources
- OPEN Virginia Farm Recovery Block Grant (2026) — Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services