NOAA renews five long-term Gulf research projects with $24.7 million

The five awards

Reef fish video surveys ($7,420,550). The G-FISHER program (Gulf Fishery Independent Survey of Habitat and Ecosystem Resources), led by Theodore Switzer of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, combines habitat and water-quality data with three linked reef fish video surveys. NOAA says the resulting database on Gulf reef fish abundance, size and community makeup feeds stock assessments (https://restoreactscienceprogram.noaa.gov/projects/reef-fish-survey).

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Deep open-water fauna ($3,712,978). DEEPEND|RESTORE II, led by Tracey Sutton of Nova Southeastern University, uses nets and acoustic sampling to follow long-term trends in fishes, shrimps, squid-like cephalopods and other animals in the deep open Gulf beyond the continental shelf (https://restoreactscienceprogram.noaa.gov/projects/deep-pelagic-fauna).

Whales and dolphins ($4,627,344). A NOAA team led by Melissa Soldevilla uses a network of underwater microphones and habitat modeling to measure long-term trends in the abundance, location and movement of marine mammals across the Gulf, and to study the effects of human activity and ocean conditions (https://restoreactscienceprogram.noaa.gov/projects/marine-mammals-and-acoustics).

Marsh birds and prescribed fire ($5,103,726). A University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign team led by Auriel M.V. Fournier studies how black rails and mottled ducks respond to different prescribed-burn schedules in high coastal marshes, to help managers choose fire practices that support those birds (https://restoreactscienceprogram.noaa.gov/projects/marsh-birds-and-fire).

Mobile Bay fisheries ($3,834,439). A University of South Alabama team led by John C. Lehrter studies how oysters, blue crabs, southern flounder and spotted seatrout in Mobile Bay respond to human activity and to changes in water temperature, salinity and oxygen, using field sampling, lab experiments and computer models (https://restoreactscienceprogram.noaa.gov/projects/oysters-blue-crabs-seatrout).

How the renewals were decided

NOAA says independent experts reviewed each project on scientific quality, project performance, and how relevant and useful the work is to Gulf natural resource managers before the five-year renewals were approved.

Where the money comes from

The funding comes through the RESTORE Act (the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act), which was created after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The program's stated mission is research, observation and monitoring that supports the long-term sustainability of the Gulf ecosystem, including its fisheries.

Read next

Mobile County, Alabama brief on the Mobile Bay fisheries award (https://noticenearby.com/briefs/al-mobile-noaa-restore-mobile-bay-oyster-blue-crab-seatrout-research-3-8-million-oct-2026), the Mobile County hub (https://noticenearby.com/al/mobile), the Florida hub (https://noticenearby.com/fl) and all public papers (https://noticenearby.com/papers). Local businesses, parks and places along the Gulf Coast are on ZOST.app (https://zost.app).

Notes and sources

1. Author: Ryan Standley / Record of Sale, LLC / Notice Nearby.
2. Source: NOAA RESTORE Science Program announcement (NOAA National Ocean Service), Oct. 14, 2026 (https://restoreactscienceprogram.noaa.gov/).
3. Hero image: painted mural generated for this story. No people, no text.
4. Discussed on @NoticeNearYou: (pending).
5. Notice Nearby is a Public Register listing, not a newspaper, and this page is not Legal Publication. If NOAA and this note disagree, NOAA wins.