WASHINGTON – Delaware will cash in on a portion of the $16.7 million dollar investment in marine technology innovation funding that's been awarded by the Biden-Harris Administration through the Inflation Reduction Act.
Wednesday it was announced that the funding would be split up across 12 awards. The goal is to support the development of new technologies and public-private partnerships focused on sustainability, equity, biodiversity, and climate adaptation.
Of the 12 total awards, two of them will impact Delaware directly.
Delaware
- University of Delaware/Mid-Atlantic Regional Association Coastal Ocean Observing System is recommended to receive $1,750,000 to establish and develop a Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) for the Mid-Atlantic coast.
Delaware/Florida/Canada
- The Shark Research Foundation is recommended to receive $1,750,000 to expand BioTrack, a collaborative network established by Marine Biodiversity Observation Network and the Animal Tracking Network to assess and monitor biodiversity hotspots where marine megafauna share habitat.
The initiative, led by the Department of Commerce and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is part of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System’s Marine Life and Ocean Technology Transition programs. The awarded projects will provide communities with the necessary tools and information for enhancing coastal resilience.
“To tackle climate change nationwide, we have to better understand and manage our coasts,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “These awards will advance new technologies needed to gain critical insights into the status and health of our coastal ecosystems.”