The US government has allocated $147.5 million through the Inflation Reduction Act to bolster NOAA’s science and management capabilities in support of climate-ready fisheries. The funding will be used to enhance science and data collection efforts to account for the effects of climate change on fish and marine mammal stock assessments. This investment will also modernize and transform NOAA’s technological capabilities by utilizing innovative methods like uncrewed systems, remote sensing, and environmental DNA collection.
A significant portion of the funding, $40 million, will go towards the Climate, Ecosystems, and Fisheries Initiative, which aims to provide resource managers and fishing communities with the necessary information to build resilience and adapt to changing marine ecosystems. This initiative will establish a decision-support system to track ecosystem changes, assess risks to valuable resources, and identify options for reducing risks and bolstering resilience in the face of changing climate and ocean conditions.
To implement the initiative, NOAA will allocate funds to NOAA Fisheries and NOAA’s National Ocean Service to enhance regional capacity for forecasting ecosystem conditions and providing actionable advice for climate-informed resource management and community adaptation. Additionally, NOAA Research will receive funding to develop long-term projections of ocean and Great Lakes conditions to evaluate risks and identify strategies for adaptation and resilience.
Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries Janet Coit stressed the importance of addressing the climate crisis and its impacts on coastal ecosystems. The funding is part of a larger $3.3 billion investment announced by NOAA in June 2023.
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