NOAA Awards $945,000 to Sarasota Laboratory

NOAA AWARDS $945,000 TO SARASOTA LABORATORY

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is awarding a $945,000 grant to Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Fla. NOAA is an agency of the Commerce Department.

The award funds research programs and field trials at Mote Marine Laboratory and the University of New Hampshire to develop effective marine hatchery release (stocking) programs that can replenish depleted fisheries in a variety of coastal habitats. The money will help pay for research and testing to develop the full potential of marine stock enhancement as a means to alleviate the overburdened status of coastal fisheries.

“NOAA and the Bush Administration are constantly working to improve the country’s fisheries and fishing industry,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “This grant for Mote Marine Laboratory will help to move fisheries management to a better level of sustainability. As a result, we will protect the nation’s fish stocks and those who make a living from them.”

“We're hoping to bring both federal and state laboratories in the state of Washington into this national research consortium in 2005,” Dr. Kumar Mahadevan, President of Mote.

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 goals and programs reflect a commitment to these basic responsibilities of science and service to the nation for the past 33 years.

The Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (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.