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Feature Articles
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NE Consortium looking for co-op research development proposals
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This article is reprinted with permission of Commercial Fisheries News, the Northeast's fishing newspaper for over 30 years, ©2003 Compass Publications Inc. Commercial Fisheries News is published monthly; annual subscriptions are $21.95. To subscribe or request a sample issue: call (877) 263-4496; fax (207) 367-2490; e-mail (cfoster@fish-news.com); or click on the hot link.
DURHAM, NH - Although the Northeast Consortium was still finalizing the selection of cooperative research projects submitted earlier this year, it announced that fishermen and scientists now have another chance to apply for funding.
A project development fund request for proposals (RFP) was scheduled to be posted on the consortium's web site - www.northeastconsortium.org, - on Sept. 2.
"Project development funds will make up to $25,000 available per project to plan, design, and test the feasibility of an idea, try out new gear, or otherwise lay the groundwork for a new cooperative research project," explained consortium Executive Director Troy Hartley in a mid-August e-mail.
The consortium has reserved $300,000 in cooperative research funds for project development awards.
Basically, all anyone has to do to apply is submit a "short letter proposal" explaining the idea. They must also identify who would be involved and what the project hopes to achieve. The deadline for applying is Oct. 7.
"The Northeast Consortium especially encourages letters from fishermen," Hartley said. "Northeast Consortium staff and outreach contractors will assist fishermen in preparing letter proposals as desired."
The consortium has already awarded a total of 30 project development awards over the last two years, including some specifically directed at northern right whale studies.
For more information on how to apply, visit the consortium web site or contact Rollie Barnaby, extension educator, New Hampshire Sea Grant Extension at: phone (603) 679-5616; or e-mail rollie.barnaby@unh.edu.
Upcoming awards
Over the last three years, the consortium has funded nearly 75 cooperative research and right whale projects.
For 2003, it anticipates funding an additional 17 new projects and four continuing projects totaling about $3.4 million and involving more than 250 fishermen and 25 scientists, according to Hartley.
This next round of projects is being chosen from a Feb. 26 RFP that drew 114 planning letters. By the July 14 deadline, 41 full proposals had been submitted, totaling $7.5 million in requests.
By mid-August, the consortium advisory committee and review panel, made up of 28 fishermen, scientists, fisheries managers, and representatives of nongovernmental organizations, had evaluated the proposals and made recommendations to consortium representatives, who were finalizing their project selections.
"The interest and capacity to conduct cooperative research in the Northeast fishing industry and scientific community may be unsurpassed in the world," Hartley said. "There has been an overwhelming response this year to the cooperative research RFP and we look forward to hearing from fishermen and scientists in response to the project development RFP."
The Northeast Consortium is made up of the Sea Grant Programs at the University of New Hampshire, the University of Maine, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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