NOAA Awards More Than $700,000 To Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission For Groundfish Research

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration granted $706,380 to the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission to create a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for Pacific Coast Groundfish. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The grant will provide funding to supplement existing commission activities by developing new information and new tools for assessing future federal and state regulations and policies associated with west coast fisheries, particularly in the areas of protecting essential fish habitat and reducing bycatch. Some of the new tasks being undertaken with this additional funding include building ecosystem-based management decision tools, providing greater access to the public to available data and developing models and information that evaluate the economics of essential fish habitat decisions.

“Fishery managers will benefit from this NOAA grant by receiving the information that they need to make accurate decisions regarding groundfish,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “This grant allows the Pacific states to manage their coastal resources and supports NOAA and the Bush Administration’s commitment to the environment.”

Each year, NOAA awards approximately $900 million in grants to members of the academic, scientific and business communities to assist the agency in fulfilling its mission 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. NOAA’s goals and programs reflect a commitment to these basic responsibilities of science and service to the nation for the past 34 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, please visit http://www.noaa.gov.