NOAA Awards $6.8 Million in Research Grants to Florida Institutions

NOAA 2002-R921
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Gene Louden
10/1/02 NOAA News Releases 2002
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NOAA AWARDS $6.8 MILLION IN RESEARCH GRANTS TO FLORIDA INSTITUTIONS

The Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded a total of $6,899,956 in grants to the University of Miami, Florida State University, Sarasota’s Mote Marine Laboratory, the Gulf & South Atlantic Fisheries Foundation and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for studies that will improve understanding of oceanic and atmospheric interactions on weather and agriculture, population effects on watersheds and marine habitats and preservation of marine and coastal resources.

“Through our cooperative institutes and joint programs the Bush Administration and NOAA promote collaborative work between academic and the agency's researchers in order to improve the quality of life of our citizens,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “The funding enables dozens of outstanding scientists to work cooperatively with NOAA in research relevant to understanding the Earth’s oceans and atmosphere and alleviating the pressures put on our coastal and fisheries resources. NOAA is proud to make these awards to the University of Miami, the Mote Marine Laboratory and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.”

The University of Miami’s Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS) in Miami, a cooperative institute between NOAA and the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, will receive a NOAA grant of $3,171,936 for continued research within three themes--Climate Variability, Fisheries Dynamics, and Coastal Ocean Ecosystem Processes--in collaboration with NOAA’s Environmental Research Laboratory and the National Marine Fisheries Service.

The National Shark Research Consortium at the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, will use a $1,425,000 grant to conduct original research on shark nursery areas, migration, stock structure, abundance, essential habitat and population dynamics in the Gulf of Mexico, off the southeastern states in the Atlantic Ocean, and in the Pacific along the U.S. west coast. This research will provide critical information to the National Marine Fisheries Service, regional fishery management councils, international fisheries commissions, state agencies, and other organizations for the rational management of sharks as a marine resource. Mote will also receive a $197,633 grant to fund red snapper research on the Florida coast.

A NOAA grant of $538,360 to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection will help the staff of the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve, St. Augustine, Fla., conduct education, research and stewardship programs to gain a better understanding of how estuaries function. They will conduct workshops for coastal decision makers on local and national issues important to the health of our coasts and estuaries and conduct research on issues of local concern. The reserve will also contribute data to the system-wide monitoring program, including weather and water quality data, and continue their work with the Geographic Information System to better understand the human-caused impacts on our watersheds. The Florida DEP will also receive a supplemental grant of $1.2 million for the completion of the reserve’s headquarters facility and other priority needs in St. Augustine.

The Gulf & South Atlantic Fisheries Foundation will receive a NOAA grant of $171,000 for their Marine Fisheries Initiative (MARFIN) to conduct education workshops and one-on-one instructions on turtle excluder device (TED) and bycatch reduction device (BRD) technology transfer.

Florida State University will receive a $196,000 NOAA grant to characterize the density, movement and demographic patterns of all the fishery species in the Madison Swanson and Steamboat Lump Fishery Reserves in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico.

NOAA will award over $800 million in grants during 2002 to members of the academic, scientific, and business communities to assist the agency fulfill its mission which is to study the Earth’s natural systems in order to predict environmental change, manage ocean resources, protect life and property, and provide decision makers with reliable scientific information. Our goals and programs reflect a commitment to these basic responsibilities of science and service to the nation for 32 years. NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and marine resources.

To learn more about NOAA and its grants programs, please visit http://www.noaa.gov.