Ruth D. Gates Coral Reef Conservation Grants $50K-$750K Closing July 23 2026

FY26 Ruth D. Gates Coral Reef Conservation Grants - Fishery Management

Agency: DOC NOAA - ERA Production

Assistance Listings: 11.482 -- Coral Reef Conservation Program

Last Updated: April 24, 2026 View version history on Grants.gov

Description

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coral Reef Conservation Program provides financial assistance through the Ruth D. Gates Coral Reef Conservation Grants - Fishery Management competition for projects to sustainably manage coral reef fisheries, as authorized under the Coral Reef Conservation Act, 16 U.S.C. § 6410. Projects funded through this competition are for activities that: 1) Develop or update sustainable coral reef fisheries management plans; 2) Address science/information gaps that help advance sustainable management of coral reef fisheries stocks; 3) Advance ecosystem-based fisheries management by modernizing analysis of existing data and application of fisheries management tools. Proposals selected for funding through this solicitation will be implemented through one- to three-year grants or cooperative agreements. Approximately $1,000,000 is expected to be available for this competition in fiscal year (FY) 2027. The NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program anticipates that awards will range from $50,000-$200,000 per year for a total of $150,000 to $600,000 over two or three years. NOAA will not accept proposals requesting less than $50,000 for oneyear proposals or more than $750,000 total for multi-year proposals. Funds will be administered by the Office of Habitat Conservation in conjunction with the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program. Funding may be divided among the U.S. Pacific and Atlantic regions to maintain the geographic balance of the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program grant portfolio, as required by the Coral Reef Conservation Act. NOAA anticipates an additional $750,000 to $1,000,000 may be available in the next two years (FY28 and FY29) to support selected awards. Awards are dependent upon the amount of federal appropriations made available to NOAA in the FY27 - FY29 budgets. Please see the National Marine Fisheries Service website on the Grant Application Process. You will need to pay close attention to the submission checks section and the common error section. There are common errors that prevent successful application submission and receipt in eRA Commons. Grants.gov may allow you to apply, but eRA Commons will not accept the application if it includes these errors, and therefore NOAA will not receive it. When you apply to this competition, you will receive notification of submission validation from Grants.gov and eRA Commons. Only validated applications are sent to NOAA to review. To ensure successful submission of an application, we strongly recommend that you submit a final and complete application at least two business days prior to the submission deadline. In addition to the Grants.gov automated notification messages, once an electronic application is accepted in eRA Commons, you will receive an automated notification from eRA Commons that the completed application was received and that an application number will be assigned. If there are errors in the application, eRA Common will send an automated email notification(s) of any errors or warnings identified by eRA Commons. You must resolve all eRA Commons errors prior to the application due date for the application to be processed. You should save and print the proof of submission messages from both Grants.gov and eRA Commons. If you do not receive an acceptance message from both Grants.gov and eRA Commons, you should follow up with the eRA Helpdesk at 1-866-504-9552 and the agency contact listed in Section VII to confirm NOAA’s receipt of the complete submission. See Section IV(G) for detailed instructions on submission validation requirements.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants

Government

• City or township governments
• County governments
• Special district governments
• State governments
• Federally recognized Native American tribal governments

Nonprofit

• Nonprofits non-higher education with 501(c)(3)
• Nonprofits non-higher education without 501(c)(3)
• Other Native American tribal organizations

Additional information

Eligible applicants are regional fishery management councils established under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), nongovernmental organizations or research institutions that have demonstrated expertise in coral reef conservation or restoration and/or scientific research; designated coral reef research centers, U.S. states, territories, or local governments with authority over coral reefs; and Native entities with interests in a coral reef ecosystem.

Grantor contact information

Description

For administrative or technical questions regarding this announcement, contact the competition manager: Liz Fairey. She can be reached by phone at 301-427- 8632 or by email at Liz.Fairey@noaa.gov.

Email

Liz.Fairey@noaa.gov

Liz.Fairey@noaa.gov

Documents

Download all
| File name | Description | Last updated |
| --- | --- | --- |
| FoaContentofNOAA-NMFS-OHC-2026-331252.pdf | NOAA-NMFS-OHC-2026-33125 Full Announcement | Apr 24, 2026 06:54 PM UTC |

Link to additional information

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Closing: July 23, 2026

Application process

This site is a work in progress. Go to www.grants.gov to apply, track application status, and subscribe to updates. View on Grants.gov

Award

$--

Program Funding

--

Expected awards

$50,000

Award Minimum

$750,000

Award Maximum

Funding opportunity number:

NOAA-NMFS-OHC-2026-33125

Cost sharing or matching requirement:

Yes Funding instrument type:

Cooperative agreement

Grant

Opportunity Category:

Discretionary

Opportunity Category Explanation:

-- Category of Funding Activity:

Environment

Natural resources

Science technology and other research and development

Category Explanation:

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History

Version:

1

Posted date:

April 24, 2026

Archive date:

August 22, 2026