Section III
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. The NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program anticipates that awards will range from $50,000-$200,000. NOAA will not accept proposals requesting less than $50,000. 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. 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.