Young Fishermen's Career Development Projects

Young Fishermen's Career Development Projects

Supports next-generation commercial fishermen through practical training in seamanship and vessel operations.

⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.

NOAA Sea Grant's Young Fishermen's Career Development Projects program provides competitive federal grants to collaborative partnerships that deliver training to early-career commercial fishermen across the United States. The FY2025 competition offered approximately $1,000,000 in federal funds for two to three projects, with a per-project maximum of approximately $400,000 — up to $200,000 per year — over one to two years. A 25 percent non-federal match is required from all applicants. The FY2025 application deadline was April 23, 2025; the Grants.gov NOFO number was 357450. The program is an annual competition, with FY2026 terms expected to be published through Grants.gov in a similar timeframe.

Training must address practical commercial fishing skills: seamanship, navigation, vessel and engine operations, safety-at-sea, electronics, and sustainable fishing practices. Eligible applicants include collaborative networks and partnerships involving state, tribal, local, or regional entities; Sea Grant institutions; federal or state agencies; tribal organizations; community-based non-governmental organizations; fishermen's cooperatives; and institutions of higher education including associate's degree-granting colleges. For-profit organizations may participate. Federal agencies cannot receive funds but may serve as uncompensated co-investigators. Applicants must hold active SAM.gov and eRA Commons registrations, which can take four to six weeks.

The program is designed to address workforce succession in commercial fisheries — a sector where the average captain age has been rising and entry barriers include high vessel costs and limited apprenticeship pathways. Winning proposals must demonstrate genuine collaborative structure, a defined population of early-career participants, measurable training outcomes, and a secured non-federal cost-share partner. The Sea Grant program structure means that partnering with one of the 34 Sea Grant programs at land-grant and sea-grant universities can strengthen both eligibility and competitiveness.