Sea Grant programs nationwide are entering 2026 with stable federal funding and new investments aimed squarely at fisheries research, aquaculture, and coastal resilience.
In the funding bill passed by Congress and signed by the president in Jan. 2026, the NOAA budget included $80 million for the Sea Grant program and $14 million for Sea Grant aquaculture, which is equivalent to the funding provided in fiscal year 2024.
Alaska Sea Grant, like other state programs, submits four-year omnibus proposals to the National Sea Grant program for core funding. The National Sea Grant program then administers those funds in accordance with proposed budgets.
The return on investment remains significant. Ginny Eckert of Alaska Sea Grant said in an email to National Fisherman, “The $94M provided to Sea Grant in 2024 resulted in $1.59B in economic impact.”
Fisheries and aquaculture are one of the four focus areas of Sea Grant in Alaska and nationally. Other focus areas, such as workforce development, resilient communities and economies, and healthy coastal ecosystems, also directly benefit the seafood industry.
The level funding follows passage of a full year “minibus” bill that supports NOAA and EPA programs tied to ocean and coastal management. According to Surfrider, the final package rejected a proposed 55 percent cut to the EPA and the elimination of coastal management grant programs. It secured level funding for NOAA Coastal Zone Management, Coastal Management Grants, the Sea Grant College Program, and National Marine Sanctuaries, while removing provisions that would have mandated new offshore drilling and weakened the Coastal Zone Management Act.
$2 million boost for lobster research
In Maine, 2026 funding is already translating into expanded fisheries research.
American lobster remains one of the nation’s most valuable fisheries, with approximately 113 million pounds landed in 2024 valued at $715 million. The industry supports thousands of Maine families across the fishing and seafood supply chain while facing growing uncertainty driven by environmental and market change.
Since 2019, Sea Grant’s NOAA-funded American Lobster Initiative has funded 40 projects aimed at closing knowledge gaps about lobster biology, population dynamics and related socioeconomic and management issues.
With the new four-year award, Maine Sea Grant and its regional partners will support collaborative research to address challenges facing the lobster fishery, synthesize findings so they are accessible and actionable for fishermen and policymakers, and provide place-based technical assistance within the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, and Southern New England.
“This new federal investment in lobster research is terrific news for Maine’s fishermen, marine researchers, and coastal communities, and it underscores why I advocated so strongly for the restoration of Maine Sea Grant’s funding last year,” said Sen. Susan Collins. “The research efforts led by Maine Sea Grant help inform policy makers and support our working waterfronts, strengthening Maine’s blue economy and helping to ensure that our state’s fisheries remain sustainable and competitive for generations to come.”
Under the new award, Maine Sea Grant will begin administering the initiative’s competitive research competition, a role previously handled by the NOAA National Sea Grant Program.
“Maine Sea Grant is honored to build on our strong partnerships and tradition of research and extension excellence by expanding our role to include research administration,” said Gayle Zydlewski, director of the Maine Sea Grant College Program at UMaine. “By leveraging our deep local connections and extensive partnerships, we will ensure this investment directly addresses the most pressing needs for the management and sustainability of the lobster fishery.”
The initiative’s emphasis on collaboration is drawing support from industry leaders as well. “The American Lobster Initiative’s emphasis on collaborative research comes at an important moment for Maine’s lobster industry and will help rebuild trust and strengthen relationships between industry, management, and research partners,” said Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association.
A portion of the $1.4 million award will support the New Hampshire Sea Grant program and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Sea Grant program to expand regional engagement and communications leadership.
In addition, NOAA awarded $600,000 in second-year funding for four previously announced projects led by UMaine, the Maine Department of Marine Resources, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The project is examining lobster reproduction and growth in changing environmental conditions and the potential effects of offshore energy installations on seafloor habitats.
“These funds will enable my project team and me to continue to grow our dataset and fill in important data gaps around lobster growth, allowing us to understand better how a changing environment may affect how lobsters grow and reproduce,” said Amalia Harrington, assistant professor of marine biology at UMaine.
Great Lakes grants in New York
Sea Grant funding in 2026 is also advancing ecosystem-based management in the Great Lakes. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and New York Sea Grant announced that $200,000 is available for projects benefiting New York’s Great Lakes basin. The grants support the application of ecosystem-based management approaches to local watershed challenges and the implementation of New York’s Great Lakes Action Agenda.
“The Great Lakes are vital to our region by supporting vibrant ecosystems, clean drinking water, and local economies. DEC is proud to work with New York Sea Grant and our partners to advance implementation of the New York Great Lakes Action Agenda,” DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton said. “These grants announced today provide another boost to support locally driven efforts that benefit New York’s Great Lakes communities and protect this vital resource.”
New York Sea Grant Associate Director and Cornell University Cooperative Extension assistant director Katherine Bunting-Howarth added, “This partnership between New York Sea Grant and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation provides communities in New York’s Great Lakes region with funding for projects that are increasing their resilience and enhancing their local environment and ecosystem resources that are vital components of coastal community economies."
The New York Great Lakes Basin Small Grants program is funded through the state Environmental Protection Fund under the authority of the New York Ocean and Great Lakes Ecosystem Conservation Act and administered by New York Sea Grant in Partnership with DEC.
The steady funding landscape in 2026 comes after a turbulent 2025 for Maine Sea Grant, when NOAA abruptly terminated the state’s $4.5 million award, calling its work “no longer relevant to the focus of the Administration’s priorities and program objectives.”
Maine appeared to be the only Sea Grant program affected at the time. Funding was later restored, and the Maine Sea Grant received a renegotiated award to continue its research and extension work.
With fiscal year 2026 funding holding at $80 million for Sea Grant and $14 million for Sea Grant Aquaculture, and with new research competitions and regional grants moving forward, the programs across the country can once again focus on fisheries, science, aquaculture development, and coastal resilience.
