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DMR Home > Species Info  > Whales > Gear-Marking Research

NMFS announces funds for fishing gear-marking research

(from e-mail dated Feb. 7, 2008)

Dear ALWTRT Member or Interested Party:

NMFS has provided funds to the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) to manage a grant program seeking gear-marking techniques that will better describe the factors that cause large whale entanglements in fishing gear. Results will support efforts to devise more effective gear modifications intended to reduce these risks. IFAW will award up to $70,000 to develop a device and/or method that can monitor fixed fishing gear (e.g. gillnets and trap/pots) while it’s fishing, collecting and storing data. Ideally, the technology will:

  1. Store descriptive data such as the fisherman, type of fishery, area fished, and date of deployment;
  2. Be portable;
  3. Be durable;
  4. Require minimal time to deploy/attach and maintain over the life of the gear
  5. Be safe for users; and
  6. Have accurate and dependable data retrieval.

The ideal grant proposal will also address the development of potential prototypes, field testing, and the purchase, deployment and replacement costs of the technology.

To view the full request for proposals and to apply, please visit: http://www.ifaw.org/rfp

There are also links to the the RFP on NMFS' ALWTRP website (http://www.nero.noaa.gov/whaletrp/) and Right Whale Funding Opportunities website (http://www.nero.noaa.gov/prot_res/prgrants/).

Proposals are due by March 31 and awards are planned for June. Work must be completed between June 2008 and July 2009. A variety of applicants are eligible.

For more information regarding this granting program, contact:
Kate Nattrass, IFAW Whale Program Officer
IFAW-Headquarters
290 Summer Street
Yarmouth Port, MA 02675-1734

Phone: 508 744 2095
Fax: 508 744 2089

For more information about gear, please visit the ALWTRP website at:
http://www.nero.noaa.gov/whaletrp/
or contact :
Glenn Salvador, NMFS Gear Team
NMFS Northeast Regional Office

Phone : 757 414 0128