WASHINGTON D.C. The Sea Grant programs in New York and Connecticut, along with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (CTDEP), jointly invite scientists to apply for approximately $3.5 million in federal and state funds that will be awarded in a national competition for research projects to investigate the causes of mortality and shell disease syndrome in Long Island Sound lobsters.
The $3.5 million research fund is projected to include $2.5 million in Federal funds as proposed by NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and awaiting final Congressional approval as part of a comprehensive lobster research and disaster relief package. An additional $1 million will be awarded from the State of Connecticut's Long Island Sound Research Fund by the CTDEP.
"This effort promises to be an excellent example of federal-state collaboration," says New York Sea Grant Director Jack Mattice. "We hope that the research that results will provide evidence to select among the many potential causes of the 1999-2000 lobster mortalities."
Connecticut Sea Grant Director Edward C. Monahan joined Mattice in making the announcement saying, ""We are very pleased to help get these funds out to the research community because we recognize the urgency of the problem, and we believe that ultimately the answers to what is killing these lobsters will come from scientists in America's universities."
Eligibility guidelines for the two sources of funds-- anticipated to become available for researchers selected under the RFP in mid to late April 2001-- are detailed in a Request for Proposals that can be viewed and downloaded from NYSG's LI Sound Lobster Initiative website: www.seagrant.sunysb.edu/LILobsters/LobsterRFP.htm.
A Lobster Steering Committee established by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) on behalf of NMFS will be overseeing the proposal review process. This Steering Committee includes representatives from CTDEP, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), The National Sea Grant College Program (NSGCP) as well as Sea Grant programs in Connecticut and New York, NMFS, ASMFC, EPA's Long Island Sound Project Office and industry members from New York and Connecticut.
"The research topics highlighted in the RFP are direct results of the meetings held earlier at Stamford and Stony Brook," says Mattice. In mid-April, a total of over 250 lobstermen, researchers, resource managers, legislators and members of federal and state agencies as well as environmental organizations came together for a Lobster Health Symposium in Stamford, Connecticut.
The gathering in Stamford-- co-sponsored by the NSGCP, Sea Grant programs in New York and Connecticut along with The University at Stony Brook's (USB) Marine Sciences Research Center, the University of Connecticut, NMFS, the US Environmental Protection Agency, the NYSDEC and CTDEP-- featured experts who discussed some of the current hypotheses to explain the lobster die-off in Long Island Sound. In late May, the agencies teamed up once again to host "Lobsters and the Long Island Sound: 1999-2000," a meeting at USB that gave researchers and administrators an opportunity to discuss with lobstermen the research priorities that came from April's symposium.
The National Sea Grant Program is a partnership between the U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA and state universities forming a network of 30 university-based programs in coastal and Great Lakes states dedicated to the conservation and wise use of marine resources through research, outreach, and education.
For the latest on Sea Grant's support of the issue, surf over to NYSG's LI Sound Lobster Initiative website: www.seagrant.sunysb.edu/LILobsters/LILobsters.htm The site contains fact sheets, press releases and recent articles regarding the American lobster.