Description

The National Sea Grant College Program was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1966 (amended in 2020, Public Law 116-221) to support leveraged federal and state partnerships that harness the intellectual capacity of the nation’s universities and research institutions to solve problems and generate opportunities in coastal communities.

Subject to the availability of funding, Sea Grant anticipates that approximately $1,500,000 will be available to fund aquaculture internships for a period of up to two years through the Sea Grant Aquaculture Internships Program. Federal funds ranging from $100,000-$500,000 may be requested per application. It is anticipated that this funding opportunity will occur on an annual basis, pending federal appropriations. The overall goal of the Sea Grant Aquaculture Internships Program is to provide commercial aquaculture experience for students (attending high school, undergraduate, or graduate school, including community colleges) and other interested individuals at partnering aquaculture operations. Successful proposals will provide hands-on, practical aquaculture work experience. Sea Grant programs and associated partners will administer their specific internship opportunities and funds should be utilized, in part, to fund salaries of interns, intern housing and transportation expenses as appropriate. Successful programs will provide interns with exposure to a variety of tasks associated with the operation of partnering aquaculture-related operations either public or private; enhance future employment opportunities and professional development; demonstrate significant partnership with the aquaculture community; and require documentation/reporting from interns and participating partners regarding internships. Participation of students enrolled in Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) is encouraged. Proposalsmustinclude participation and involvement of Sea Grant extension personnelandaquaculture community stakeholders. These investments are consistent with Sea Grant’s focus area of Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture (SFA) and the Sea Grant Network’s 10-year Aquaculture Vision, both which support NOAA and Department of Commerce aquaculture goals.

This competition is open to all Sea Grant Programs. A Sea Grant Program may submit or be a part of more than one application. Programs are encouraged to partner with other Sea Grant Programs and/or other entities such as individuals, State and Tribal Agencies/Organizations, Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), aquaculture industry members and associations, high schools, universities, and colleges, including community colleges. Federal agencies and their personnel are not permitted to receive federal funding under this competition; however, federal scientists and other employees can serve as uncompensated partners or co-Principal Investigators on applications. Federal labs and offices can also make available specialized expertise, facilities or equipment to applicants but cannot be compensated under this competition for their use, nor can the value of such assets be used as match.

All projectsmusttake place within the United States or territories or their respective waterways.

Applicantsmustcomplete and maintain three registrations to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. These registrations includeSAM.gov,Grants.gov,andeRA Commons. All registrationsmustbe completed prior to the application being submitted.The complete registration process for all three systems can take 4 to 6 weeks, so applicants should begin this activity as soon as possible.If an eligible applicant does not have access to the internet, please contact the Agency Contacts listed in Section VII for submission instructions. NOAA has created a guide to aid applicants format application packages to eRA, linkedhere.

Prior to registering with eRA Commons, applicantsmustfirst obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) from SAM.gov, if needed (refer to Section IV. Applications and Submission Information, Section C). Organizations can register with eRA Commons in tandem with completing their full SAM and Grants.gov registrations; however, all registrationsmustbe in place by time of application submission. eRA Commons requires organizations to identify at least one Signing Official (SO) and at least one Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) account in order to submit an application.

This document sets out requirements for submitting toNOAA-OAR-SG-2025-28993.