Sea Grant Programs Only - FY2025 Northeast American Lobster Regional Program | NOAA OAR SG 2025 29639

Opportunity Information: Apply for NOAA OAR SG 2025 29639

The FY2025 Northeast American Lobster Regional Program is a NOAA National Sea Grant Office (NSGO) funding opportunity (NOAA-OAR-SG-2025-29639) designed to strengthen and coordinate lobster research and extension work across the Northeast, with a particular emphasis on the Gulf of Maine while still serving the broader region. The award instrument is a cooperative agreement, reflecting NOAA's expectation of an active partnership with the selected grantee in guiding and delivering program outcomes. The program is positioned as the next step in the National Sea Grant American Lobster Initiative that began in 2018 in response to Congressional direction to build a more cohesive, regional approach to lobster science, management support, and community engagement. Since that initiative launched, NSGO reports funding 40 research projects totaling more than $11.5 million, plus an additional $1.6 million for extension activities to move research results into the hands of decision makers and coastal communities.

Eligibility for this competition is tightly restricted. Only seven Sea Grant programs in the Northeast can apply: Maine Sea Grant, New Hampshire Sea Grant, MIT Sea Grant, Woods Hole Sea Grant, Connecticut Sea Grant, Rhode Island Sea Grant, and New York Sea Grant. While a single program can submit, NOAA explicitly prioritizes proposals that demonstrate collaboration among multiple eligible Sea Grant programs, signaling that regional coordination and shared implementation are central evaluation themes. All proposed work must take place within the United States or U.S. territories, or their respective waterways.

The core intent of the opportunity is to enhance local oversight and direction of research and extension within the American lobster fishery by funding a regional program that connects existing knowledge to on-the-ground needs, continues place-based engagement, and maintains a pipeline of competitively selected research. Applications are expected to show a clear line of sight from what has already been funded and learned under the American Lobster Initiative (and other relevant federal, state, and Sea Grant-supported efforts) to what the region needs next. NOAA emphasizes that this is a mature space with established projects and extension networks already operating, so strong proposals should not start from scratch; instead, they should synthesize, amplify, and strategically fill gaps, including emerging priorities affecting lobster fishing communities as the fishery faces changing environmental, economic, and regulatory conditions.

NOAA lays out four main objectives that applicants are expected to address. First is synthesis of past and ongoing lobster research, especially projects supported by the National Sea Grant American Lobster Initiative, along with development of communication and outreach products that make findings usable and actionable. Second is support for new and continuing place-based extension, outreach, and education, meaning direct engagement with industry, managers, and communities in ways that reflect local realities while aligning with regional goals. Third is identification of needs and the funding of competitive research using established NSGO competition policies, effectively making the regional program a hub that can help define research priorities and run transparent processes to select projects. Fourth is providing competition support and oversight for selected projects, which includes administrative and programmatic coordination, tracking progress, and ensuring results are delivered in ways that benefit stakeholders.

A repeated theme throughout the notice is coordination and leverage. NOAA expects the funded regional program to support and align with existing efforts while also building new partnerships that increase regional value. This includes working alongside state and federal agency partners, maintaining and expanding relationships with researchers, and creating a framework that helps stakeholders across the Northeast share information, avoid duplication, and collaborate on solutions that improve sustainability and resilience in the lobster fishery and its associated coastal economies.

The notice also signals that NOAA is interested in a longer-term relationship beyond a single award cycle. By using this NOFO to establish a partnership with a grantee, NOAA indicates that follow-on funding for continuing the established work may occur on a noncompetitive "institutional" basis, provided performance is satisfactory, the work remains relevant to program objectives, and all conditions of performance are met. That structure is meant to support continuity for a regional program that depends on trust, coordination, and long-term engagement rather than one-off projects.

Key administrative details include the expected timing and basic funding parameters. The opportunity was created on April 3, 2025, and the application deadline is June 4, 2025. The award ceiling is listed as $3,400,000. The CFDA/assistance listing number is 11.417, and the activity category is natural resources, science and technology, and other research and development. Because the application process runs through federal systems that can take time to set up, NOAA stresses that applicants must have active registrations in SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and eRA Commons in place before submitting. The combined registration timeline can take 4 to 6 weeks, and eRA Commons requires the organization to designate at least one Signing Official and at least one Program Director/Principal Investigator account. Applicants are also pointed to NOAA and Department of Commerce guidance and training resources to reduce common submission errors, including an eRA submission tips guide and applicant/grantee training modules.

In practical terms, the strongest applications for this program will likely read like a regional game plan: they will show how the proposed Sea Grant-led partnership will pull together existing lobster science, translate it into usable tools and messages, keep extension presence strong in key communities, run fair and strategic research competitions to address priority gaps, and manage oversight in a way that keeps projects coordinated and accountable across state lines.

• The DOC NOAA - ERA Production in the natural resources, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Sea Grant Programs Only - FY2025 Northeast American Lobster Regional Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 11.417.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2025-04-03.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-06-04. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $3,400,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

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