National Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program (BREP) 2020 Grant

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.

If the applicant is a university that has a NOAA Cooperative Institute (CI), the institution is encouraged to submit an application that will be associated with the CI. The application must specify the name of the CI, its most recent award number, and the NOAA-approved research theme applicable to the work to be performed in the Project Narrative. The application will use the facilities and administrative rate (F&A or Indirect Cost Rate) associated with the most recent CI award.

If the CI-related application is selected for funding, NOAA will notify the university that a separate competitive award will be issued with its own award grant number. However, the BREP competitive award will include a Special Award Condition (SAC) that evidences the link between it and the CI award. The SAC will provide: (1) that the university has submitted the proposal to be associated with the CI; (2) that any existing University/NOAA memorandum of agreement (MOA) will be incorporated by reference into the terms of the BREP competitive award; and (3) that any progress report(s) for the BREP competitive award must follow the timetable of and be submitted by the CI directly to the funding program. Copies of these progress reports will be attached to the CI’s performance report as an appendix.

The mission of the National Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program (BREP) is to support the development of technological solutions and changes in fishing practices designed to minimize bycatch of fish and protected species (including Endangered Species Act-listed fish, marine mammals, seabirds, and sea turtles) and to reduce impacts to invertebrates (including sponges, deep-sea corals, and shallow (tropical) corals.) In addition, BREP may support projects that quantify post-release mortality and identify ways to minimize mortality and injury of bycaught species (including post-release injury and mortality). Projects should produce outcomes that can directly influence management needs of federally managed living marine resources.