The University of Maine announced funding has been restored for Maine Sea Grant to continue research and outreach. They said restored funds are in line with a funding plan abruptly terminated in February. 

According to a UMaine news release May 2, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) officially notified the university last week it was awarding three more years of funding for Maine Sea Grant; funds were made immediately available for the upcoming year, with funding for two additional years contingent on congressional approval.  

In February, NOAA announced the termination of a multimillion-dollar award supporting Maine Sea Grant. The program, overseen by UMaine, was in the second year of a roughly $4.5 million, four-year funding cycle, scheduled to end in 2028. NOAA, which is overseen by the Department of Commerce (DOC), said activities proposed for the second year of the award “are no longer relevant to the focus of the Administration’s priorities and program objectives.”    

Out of 34 sea grant programs nationwide, Maine’s was the only one affected.  

Maine legislators quickly advocated for restoring the funds, including a bill to raise emergency funding from Maine State Rep. Holly Stover (D-Boothbay), a letter from U.S. Sen. Angus King (I-ME) and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and negotiation efforts with Lutnick from U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). 

March 5, Collins announced the DOC agreed to renegotiate funding for Maine Sea Grant to better align with the Trump administration’s priorities. 

“The groundswell of support for Maine Sea Grant and the stories that have surfaced about its incredible impact on our state’s working waterfronts have been extraordinary and effective,” said UMaine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy in the recent release, and specifically thanked Collins.  

The university said the new award is consistent with the original four-year agreement; almost $1.5 million in federal funds will be matched by nearly $810,000 from non-federal sources over the next year, including industry and state research and development funding. UMaine added the DOC would additionally provide over $3 million to Maine Sea Grant through January 2028, to be matched by around $1,65 million, assuming Congress continues to fund the National Sea Grant program.  

According to UMaine, programs and services supported by Maine Sea Grant in 2023 generated $15 of economic activity in the state for every federal dollar, for a total impact of $23.5 million.  

Ongoing activities include coastal workforce and business development, hands-on PK-16 marine science education and outreach, research with governmental and industry partners to inform lobster and other fisheries management, and storm preparedness assistance for working waterfronts. 

“This vital funding for Maine Sea Grant is not a cost,” said lobsterman and marine biologist Curt Brown in the release. “It is an investment in the future of Maine’s coastal industries and communities, an investment that has paid dividends for decades and will continue to support these iconic industries for generations to come.”