To
increase greatly the Nation's wealth and quality of life through
sustainable fisheries that support fishing industry jobs, safe and
wholesome seafood, and recreational opportunities.
TYPES
OF ASSISTANCE:
Project Grants. Place Cursor Here for Definition
USES
AND USE RESTRICTIONS:
Proposals
must respond to funding priorities in the annual solicitation. Applicants
should demonstrate an awareness of the fisheries resources in the
region over which the resource extends as well as the issues/problems
involving such fisheries. Issues/problems addressed in the project
should be supported by industry experience.
ELIGIBILITY
REQUIREMENTS:
Applicant
Eligibility: Any U.S. citizen or national, or
any citizen of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the
Marshall Islands, Republic of Palau, or the Federated States of
Micronesia; or group including State and local governments, except
that employees of Federal agencies, and Regional Fishery Management
Councils and their employees, are not eligible.
Beneficiary
Eligibility: Any U.S. citizen or national,
or any citizen of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of
the Marshall Islands, Republic of Palau, or the Federated States
of Micronesia; or group including State and local governments.
Credentials/Documentation:
Proposal with statement of work and budget estimate. See annual
solicitation published in the Federal Register for details. Costs
will be determined in accordance with OMB Circular No. A-21 for
institutions of higher education, with OMB Circular No. A-87 for
State and local governments, and with OMB Circular No. A-122 for
nonprofit organizations.
Pre-application
Coordination: This program is eligible for coverage
under E.O. 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs."
An applicant should contact 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. A
listing of State single points of contact under E.O. 12372 is available
at www.hhs.gov/grantsnet/lawsregs/eo.htm.
Application
Procedure: Submit Standard Form 424, project
proposal and budget following the format specified by the funding
office in the annual solicitation. This program is subject to
provisions of 15 CFR Part 14 for institutions of higher education
and other nonprofit organizations, and with 15 CFR Part 24 for
State and local governments.
Award
Procedure: Proposals are reviewed after the
submission deadline in competition with all other proposals submitted.
To the extent that funds are available, those proposals judged
to best meet priorities are funded. Either grants or cooperative
agreements will be awarded.
Deadlines:
Solicitation published once each fiscal year for which there is
an allocation by the Congress for the program. Notice is published
in the Federal Register; deadline is 60 days after date of publication.
Range
of Approval/Disapproval Time: From 3 to 4
months.
Appeals:
None.
Renewals:
Projects of up to 18-month durations will be considered. Proposals
for continuing work must be competed.
ASSISTANCE
CONSIDERATIONS:
Formula
and Matching Requirements: By statute, the Federal
share must be at least 50 percent of the total costs of the project.
The requirement for cost-sharing varies from year to year as published
in the solicitation. For example, for the FY 2000 solicitation,
a 10 percent minimum cost share was required.
Length
and Time Phasing of Assistance: Grants are
generally for 12 months but not to exceed 18 months. Financial
status reports are completed and submitted. Funds are released
through the Financial Assistance Disbursement System (FADS), in
advance or by reimbursement, as agreed to in the Standard Terms
and Conditions document required for each grant.
POST
ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Reports:
Semiannual progress and financial reports shall be due within 30
days after the end of the 6-month period. Final reports shall be
submitted within 90 days after the end of the project.
Audits:
In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A- 133 (Revised,
June 24, 1997), recipients that are States, Local Governments,
Non-profit 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. In accordance
with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133 (Revised, June 24,
1997), "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations,"
nonfederal entities that expend financial assistance of $300,000
or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific
audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities that expend
less than $300,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal
audit requirements for that year, except as noted in Circular
No. A-133.
Records:
Financial records, supporting documents, statistical records,
and all other records pertinent to an agreement shall be retained
for a period of 3 years.
FINANCIAL
INFORMATION:
Account
Identification: 13-5139-0-2-376.
Obligations:
(Grants) FY 01 $1,723,000; no funds identified for future fiscal
years.
Range
and Average of Financial Assistance:
$3,400 to $179,565. Average: $84,000.
Annual reports are available upon request. In addition, the fiscal
year 2001 Annual Report and the updated Annotated Bibliography are
available on the website. For the fiscal year 2001 solicitation,
which was published in fiscal year 2000, 111 proposals were received,
of which 20 were recommended for funding at a total of $1.68 million.
The next solicitation notice, for fiscal 2002, is expected to be
published around March 2002.
REGULATIONS,
GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE:
Detailed guidelines are published with solicitation in the Federal
Register.
INFORMATION
CONTACTS:
Regional
or Local Office: See listing in Appendix IV
of the Catalog. .
Headquarters
Office: Office of Sustainable Fisheries, Financial
Services Division, F/SF2, National Marine Fisheries Service, National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce,
1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Telephone: (301)
713-2358. Fax: (301) 713-1939.
Web
Site Address: www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfweb/skhome.html
EXAMPLES
OF FUNDED PROJECTS:
Grants and Cooperative Agreements to support sustainable fisheries,
to study by catch issues, to improve fisheries management, to develop
aquaculture systems, and to improve product quality and safety.
CRITERIA
FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS:
Significance of the issue addressed in the proposal, methodology
proposed, responsiveness to published priorities, cost proposed,
etc.
