UMass Dartmouth Professors Geoffrey Cowles & Kevin Stokesbury are among NOAA Fisheries’ awardees selected to receive research set-aside funds to support research that informs fishery management and stock assessments.
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NOAA recently announced its 2021-22 Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside Projects Selected. Recipients of the grants collaborate with the fishing industry to conduct research. According to the NOAA Fisheries website, the projects focus on research priorities identified by the New England Fishery Management Council, which established the Sea Scallop RSA Program in 1999. These funds from NOAA Fisheries Research Set-Aside Programs are competitive grants awarded to scientists who have a demonstrated track record for supporting applied research that informs fishery management decisions and improves stock assessments. Learn more.
Dr. Geoffrey Cowles' project:
Project: Continued Testing Into How Cutting Bar Modifications Can Reduce Bycatch and Increase Catch Efficiency in the Atlantic Sea Scallop Dredge Fishery
Institution: National Fisheries Institute, Inc.
Principal Investigators: Geoffrey Cowles; Jason Morson and Eleanor Bochenek of Rutgers University; & Douglas Zemeckis of Rutgers Cooperative Extension
Set-Aside Year/Award: 2021/57,587 lb ($719,842)
Dr. Kevin Stokesbury's projects:
Project: Video Trawl Survey of Closed Area II
Institution: UMass Dartmouth
Set-Aside Year/Award: 2021/98,642 lb ($1,233,019)
Project: Broadscale Drop camera Survey of the Georges Bank Sea Scallop Resource
Institution: UMass Dartmouth
Set-Aside Year/Award: 2021/86,813 lb ($1,085,164); 2022/47,907 lb ($598,839)