The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration granted $3,670,926 to Wild American Shrimp, Inc., an organization that assists the domestic shrimp industry, to help market domestic shrimp. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The project supported by this grant will be a multi-faceted approach to marketing wild domestic shrimp. The company will educate the public about the nutritional value, preparation and palatability of domestic shrimp. To provide the consumer with a way to identify the American shrimp, an emblem will be created and advertisements proclaiming their benefits will be purchased in major markets.

“The shrimping industry is vital to the communities along the Gulf Coast, this grant allows NOAA and Wild American Shrimp, Inc. to make efforts to sustain the livelihood of these communities by increasing knowledge and consumption levels of domestic shrimp,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “NOAA and the Bush administration are working to improve the understanding of our environment and to strengthen community building initiatives like those of Wild American Shrimp, Inc.”

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.