The NSF Seafood Engine in New England Wins $15M Award to Strengthen Fisheries and Aquaculture
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) announced a major new award to bolster the American seafood industry through the NSF (NSF Engines) program within the Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (NSF TIP).
The NSF Seafood Engine in New England, led by the Portsmouth-based non-profit NERACOOS, is a collaboration of seafood industry, tech sector, government, and research partners across Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, including UNH. This innovation ecosystem aims to revitalize the seafood sector through cutting-edge technology. This award will position New England to lead the nation in meeting the goals outlined in the Executive Order on .
“New Hampshire may only have about 18 miles of coastline, but we benefit tremendously from the seafood industry and our coastal economy,” says New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. “I’m thankful the National Science Foundation recognized those benefits and also the immense potential of the maritime economy by selecting the Seafood Engine in New England as a new NSF Engine. This award will provide the resources to make the engine a success, strengthening fisheries and aquaculture throughout New England, creating good jobs, promoting innovation and boosting our competitiveness in the world.”
The Seafood Engine will initially receive an award of $15 million over two years, with the potential to grow up to $160 million over 10 years as it works to build an internationally competitive technology and innovation cluster. This core funding from NSF creates an unprecedented opportunity to leverage additional resources from public, private, and philanthropic sources to expand the partnership and scale its outcomes. The NSF Engine strives to enhance the competitiveness of fisheries and aquaculture, a pillar of New England's economy that accounts for 25% of the nation’s seafood value. The technological solutions can be rolled out nationwide, propelling the American seafood industry to a stronger position within the global market.
“Built on the ingenuity and steadfast determination at the heart of America’s oldest commercial enterprise, the Seafood Engine is ready to confront key challenges facing the industry with bold innovation,” says Jake Kritzer, principal investigator of the Seafood Engine and executive director of NERACOOS.
At the outset, the Seafood Engine will:
Support an exciting portfolio of R&D projects that bring together seafood harvesters, academic experts, and tech companies aimed at building ocean intelligence through state-of-the-art sensors deployed from fishing vessels and aquaculture farms.
Form a consortium of regional seafood apprenticeship programs at the center of the Engine’s Workforce Development strategy through which new entrants can participate in R&D projects and operationalize their innovations.
Provide funding to blue tech companies that have passed the R&D phase and need support to bring products to commercialization through the Translation of Innovation to Impact strategy.
Over time, new R&D, Workforce Development, and Translation activities will work to reshore American seafood processing capacity and strengthen the full supply chain. Together, these efforts will bring new opportunities to small and medium firms across the New England coastline and cut into the $20 billion seafood deficit facing American businesses.
"UNH is proud to be a partner in the effort to bring technological innovation to one of New England’s most important heritage industries,” UNH President Elizabeth Chilton says. “This public-private partnership will strengthen our seafood supply chain and bolster coastal communities across the region.”
In early summer 2024, the Seafood Engine submitted one of in response to the second NSF Engines funding opportunity. The preliminary proposal was selected as one of . Following a merit review, the Seafood Engine was one of 29 teams to share a detailed presentation about their proposed NSF Engine.
From this process, in two-day site visits with NSF staff and external experts. The Seafood Engine is one of 12 NSF Engines award winners selected from among these finalists.