The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration granted $582,916 to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to increase sockeye salmon fry production. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The grant will increase fry production from several Transboundary Lakes through hatchery incubation in the U.S. to supplement the number of sockeye available to fishermen. The program will use mass marking to identify these enhanced fish to monitor the success of the program and to aid in the management of fisheries targeting the Transboundary River stocks.

“Funding from this NOAA grant will allow fishermen to continue fishing for sockeye salmon in Alaska,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “This is another example of NOAA’s and the Bush Administration’s strong commitment to species conservation and environmental stewardship.”

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.