The NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program is offering the Ruth D. Gates Grant to support Hawaii’s Sustainable Coral Reef Fisheries Management Plans.

NOAA employees are not permitted to assist in the preparation of applications. NOAA CRCP staff are available to provide general information on programmatic goals and objectives, ongoing coral reef conservation programs/activities, and regional funding priorities. For proposals that involve collaboration with current NOAA projects or staff, NOAA employees may provide a limited statement verifying the nature and extent of the collaboration and confirming prior coordination activities. Letters of support from NOAA employees are not allowable and will not be included among the application materials considered by merit reviewers.
Federal agencies and employees are not allowed to receive funds under this announcement, but may serve as collaborative project partners. In-kind services from federal agencies and employees cannot be considered as part of an applicant’s match on shared costs. If federal agencies are collaborators, applicants are expected to provide detail on the planned level of federal engagement in the application. Examples may include, but are not limited to, partnership services, serving in a review capacity, or participating in priority task teams, working groups, or leadership teams.
DOC/NOAA supports cultural and gender diversity and encourages women and minority individuals and groups to participate in proposals submitted to this program. In addition, 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 historically underserved areas. DOC/NOAA encourages applications involving any of the above institutions to apply.

The purpose of this notice is to solicit financial assistance applications that will support state and national management goals through the creation of Sustainable Coral Reef Fisheries Management Plans (CR-FMPs) across the Hawaiian Islands. The applicant will work closely with partners at the State of Hawaii’s Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) and NOAA Pacific Island Regional Office (PIRO) to support development of CR-FMPs as part of the State’s Holomua Initiative. The State will lead this process, driven by local, island-based Navigator Teams; this award will focus on providing technical support and creating decision making tools to aid this process. 

These funds will be utilized specifically to support technical writing needs in Lana‘i, Hawai‘i Island, Kauai, and O¿ahu CR-FMPs, in coordination with DAR. CR-FMPs will identify specific management actions that will contribute to reaching locally identified sustainable fisheries management targets on each island. Funds may also be used to support data integration needs from each island, or in the creation of decision support tools to assist island based Navigator Teams to make science based decisions on sustainable fishing targets for their place.

Applications submitted to this funding opportunity should propose work plans over a duration of no more than 36 months (3 years). Each application should not request more than $200,000 in Federal funds per fiscal year, for a total of no more than $600,000. Applications are expected to be submitted by entities with a physical presence and long-term partnerships in Hawai’i, and applicants should have demonstrated experience working across diverse partnerships and with Native Hawaiian organizations.