Cooperative Science and Education Program (11.455)
Program
11.455 Cooperative Science and Education Program
Federal Agency
NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Authorization
Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act of 1956, 16 U.S.C. 661; Fish and Wildlife Act, 16 U.S.C. 753(a); Department of Commerce Appropriation Act of 1999.
Program Number
11.455
Last Known Status
Active
Objectives
To support through grants and cooperative agreements, enduring partnerships between the Federal government and institutions of research and higher education for cooperative science and education on marine issues, especially living marine resources and their habitat, that confront local, regional, and national resources managers; also, to award grants and cooperative agreements to develop innovative approaches and methods for marine and estuarine science and education.
Types of Assistance
Project Grants (Cooperative Agreements).
Uses and Use Restrictions
Funds can be used by recipients to support a wide variety of research and higher education projects on high-priority marine and estuarine resource issues, especially resources and/or their habitat currently under, or proposed for future Federal or interjurisdictional management.
Eligibility Requirements
Applicant Eligibility
Eligible applicants for assistance are State, U.S. territorial, and private institutions of higher learning and education, especially universities and colleges, with which the National Marine Fisheries Service or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has entered into, or may enter into, an enduring partnership for purposes of research and education on the marine environment. Also included are private and public research organizations affiliated with institutions of higher learning, and national and international organizations and programs dedicated to marine and estuarine research, education, and outreach.
Beneficiary Eligibility
This program benefits Federal, State, and interstate marine resource conversation and management agencies; U.S. and foreign commercial and recreational fishing industries; conservation organizations, academic institutions; international and Indian Tribal treaties; private and public research groups; consumers; and the general public.
Credentials/Documentation
Applicants are required to satisfy all DOC/NOAA standards and regulations, including routine and special terms and conditions, for financial assistance programs application and conduct.
Application and Award Process
Preapplication Coordination
The standard application forms as furnished by the agency. This program is eligible for coverage under E.O. 12372, " Intergovernment Review of Federal Programs". An applicant should consult the office or official designated as the single point of contact in his or her State for more information on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review.
Application Procedure
Submission of an application on Standard Form 424 as furnished by NOAA, including all required documentation and certifications, to the appropriate National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Science and Research Director. This program is subject to the provisions of 15 CFR Part 14. NOAA reserves the right to withhold the awarding of a grant or cooperative agreement to any individual or organization delinquent on a debt to the Federal government until payment is made or satisfactory arrangements are made with the agency that the debt is owed.
Award Procedure
Proposals are initially evaluated by the appropriate NMFS Science and Research Center, and are subject to review for technical merit, soundness of design, competency of the applicant to perform the proposed work, potential contribution of the project to national or regional research and education goals, and appropriateness and reasonableness of proposed costs. Projects approved for funding will be submitted to the NOAA Grants Management Division and the Department of Commerce's Office of Federal Assistance for review and approval.
Deadlines
Project applications must be received by the receiving NMFS office at least 120 days before the requested start date of the project.
Range of Approval/Disapproval Time
Appeals
None.
Renewals
Grants and cooperative agreements are approved on an annual basis, but may be continued beyond the first segment, subject to approved time frame and scope of work, satisfactory progress, and availability of funds. Renewal of an award to increase funding or extend the period of performance is at the sole discretion of the Department.
Assistance Considerations
Formula and Matching Requirements
This program has no statutory formula. NOAA may fund up to 100 percent of project costs. Grantees matching contributions are not required, but are encouraged.
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance
Awards are normally for a 12 month period but in some instances, award periods may extend beyond 12 months or may be completed in less than 12 months. Award funds must be spent in the indicated budget period and expended in accordance with DOC/NOAA finance and reporting procedures. Funds are released in advance or by reimbursement, as agreed to in the Standard Terms and Conditions document required for each grant.
Post Assistance Requirements
Reports
Reports are due in accordance with the terms and conditions of the award. The Department's financial assistance standard terms and conditions generally require that financial and performance reports be submitted semi-annually.
Audits
In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A- 133 (Revised, June 24, 1997), recipients that are States, Local Governments, Nonprofit Organizations (to include Hospitals), and Institutions of Higher Learning shall be subject to the audit requirements contained in the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996 (31 U.S.C. 7501-7507). Commercial organizations shall be subject to the audit requirements as stipulated in the award document.
Records
Generally, a recipient is required to retain records relating to a particular grant for three (3) years from the date of submission of the final financial report. In cases where litigation, claim or an audit is initiated prior to expiration of the three-year period, records must be retained until the action and resolution of any issues associated with it are complete or until the end of the three-year retention period; whichever is latest.
Program Accomplishments
Alaska Center: Through support of JISAO work was carried out on an atlas of the occurrence and distribution of eggs and larvae of north Pacific fishes sampled during fisheries oceanography cruises; study of biological and physical factors affecting survival of walleye pollock eggs and larvae in the Gulf of Alaska and their recruitment to the commercially fished population; groundfish stomachs were read to determine the importance of different Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska prey species; research cruises were conducted to place and recover Atka mackerel tags; and a research cruise was conducted to determine the effects of fishing on the distribution of pollock. Northeast Center: Cooperative programs with universities were supported, primarily for training graduate students: University of Massachusetts, Rutgers University, Virginia Institute of Marie Science and the University of Rhode Island. Northwest Center: Undergraduate and graduate internships; Salmon survival and life-stages research: disease and anthropogenic factors, estuarine influences, ocean ecology, predation, and genetics; Ground fish research: stock assessment and habitat Southeast Center: Coastal fisheries habitat management research. Southwest Center: Grants were awarded to the University of Hawaii and the University of California to support undergraduate and graduate student research, support of educational programs in fisheries research, marine satellite data processing and research vessel support. Cooperative research studies are between NMFS/JIMAR and JIMO.
Financial Information
Account Identification
13-1450-0-1-306.
Obligations
(Grants and Cooperative Agreements) FY 02 $5,087,618; FY 03 est $6,000,000; and FY 04 est $6,000,000.
Range and Average of Financial Assistance
$20,000 to $637,412. Average: $306,693.
Regulations, Guidelines and Literature
Allowable cost will be determined in accordance with OMB Circular A-87 for State and local governments and Indian Tribes; OMB Circular A-122 for nonprofit and for- profit organizations; OMB Circular A-21 for institutions of higher education; and 48 CFR Part 31 for commercial organizations. Financial assistance management will be in accordance with 15 CFR Part 14 for institutions of higher education, hospitals, and other non-profit and commercial organizations, and with 15 CRF Part 24 for state and local governments.
Related Programs
None.
Information Contacts
Regional or Local Office
Program contacts: Alaska: Mr. James M. Coe, Deputy Director, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, 7600 Sand Pt. Way NE., Bldg. 4, Seattle, WA 98115-6349. Telephone: (206) 526-4000. Fax: (206) 526-4004. Email: jim.coe@noaa.gov. Northeast: Dr. Ken Sherman, Chief, Office of Marine Ecosystem Studies, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, 28 Tarzwell Drive, Narragansett, RI, 02882. Telephone: (401) 782-3211. Fax: 401-782-3201. Email: Kenneth.Sherman@noaa.gov. Northwest: Dr. Linda Jones, Deputy Director, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, 2725 Montlake Boulevard East, Seattle, WA 98112-2097. Telephone: (206) 860-3200. Fax: (206) 860-3217. Email: linda.jones@noaa.gov. Southeast: Dr. Nancy Thompson, Acting Director, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, 75 Virginia Beach Dr., Miami, FL 33149. Telephone: (305) 361-4285. Fax: (305) 361-4219. Email: nancy.thompson@noaa.gov. Southwest: Dr. Richard Neal, Deputy Science Director, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, 8604 La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla, CA 92038-1508. Telephone: (858) 546-7066. Fax: (858) 546-7003. Email: Richard.A.Neal@noaa.gov.
Headquarters Office
Not applicable.
Web Site Address
Examples of Funded Projects
Alaska Center: JISAO at the University of Washington was supported to provide for the study of biological and physical factors affecting the recruitment of walleye pollock in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea to improve our ability to predict year class recruitment to the commercial fishery; to study the acoustic properties of fish of the north Pacific, develop visualization tools to increase the understanding of using sound to survey fish populations, investigate equipment and methods used to acoustically enumerate, size, and map fish distributions, and to foster the training of students and researchers in the use of acoustics to assess fish populations; and to provide for the study of food habitats of groundfish, the effects of fishing on the distribution of pollock in the Gulf of Alaska and the distributional behavior of Atka mackerel. Research at CIFAR was conducted on the use of genetic markers to describe the population structure of Pacific Ocean Perch and to use genetics to study the possibility of two species of rougheye rockfish. Northeast Center: Research to support the management of living marine resources. Studies will be conducted to investigate the effects of bottom roughness conditions on the predation of juvenile surfclams by crustaceans, and the accumulation of manganese in lobsters as an indicator of hypoxia-associated stress. Also, research aimed at studying the decline of Atlantic bluefish stocks. Focus on investigating the relationship between bluefish and striped bass populations, changes in bluefish food stocks, whether the bluefish have declined or migrated elsewhere, and other factors which bear upon the status of bluefish and striped bass stocks. Studies to be conducted to investigate fish distribution, population structure, and stock assessment and the analysis of survey data on subsistence fisheries. Evaluation of the potential predation risk posed by starfish to the commercial scallop resource in the Georges Bank area. Continuation of a program which has developed an extensive database on Western North Atlantic right whales and other protected marine species. Southeast Center: Characterizing conditions under which fisheries and cetaceans co-occur along the eastern U.S. coast. Funded research to verify and improve age determination in endangered marine turtle species. Establishing a web-based resource to expand opportunities for under-represented groups in the marine and environmental sciences. Northwest Center: Feeding and growth of juvenile salmonids off the Oregon and Washington coasts; ocean survival of salmonids relative to migrational timing, fish health, predation and oceanographic conditions in the Columbia River plume and adjacent coastal waters; disease and survival of juvenile salmon in the estuarine and nearshore ocean environment; undergraduate and graduate research, groundfish stock assessment and habitat research. Southeast Center: Characterizing conditions under which fisheries and cetaceans co-occur along the eastern U.S. coast. Funded research to verify and improve age determination in endangered marine turtle species. Establishing a web- based resource to expand opportunities for under-represented groups in the marine and environmental sciences. Southwest Center: JIMO at the University of California was supported to provide satellite data processing; research vessel for "Egg and larval fish production from marine ecological reserves" cruise; genetic population structure of central California coastal Salmonid populations; cooperative studies of Pacific Coast salmon; ocean and esturarine physiological ecology of salmon. JIMAR at the University of Hawaii was supported to provide pelagic fisheries visiting scientists program; tropic ecology and structured-associated aggregation behavior in Bigeye and Yellowfin Tuna in Hawaii-based commercial longline fishery; distribution, histories, and recent catch trends with six fish taxa taken as incidental catch by the Hawaii-based commercial longline fishery; recreational fisheries meta data preliminary steps; development of oceanographic atlases for Pelagic and insular fisheries and resource management of the pacific basin; pop-Off satellite archival tags to chronicle the survival and movements of blue sharks following release from longline gear; developing biochemical and physiological predictors of long term survival in released blue shark; survivorship, migration, and diving patterns of sea turtles released from commercial longline gear determined with pop-up satellite archival transmitters; pelagic fisheries research program management; pelagic fisheries research management-modeling and tag design; and Hawaii regional tuna tagging project.
Criteria for Selecting Proposals
Proposals are selected following consultation between NMFS fisheries centers scientists and universities with established memoranda of understanding or agreement, and subject to availability of funds. Proposals may be reviewed by coordinating or technical committees, based on joint determination by these reviewers and in consideration of the informational needs of the State regional and Federal marine resource management agencies, and on peer-review comments related to the technical quality of the proposal. All proposals must comply with all OMB, DOC, and NOAA grants policies and procedures.
