NOAA has developed an interactive story map that documents the economic and social impacts of harmful algal blooms. It is based on a compilation of data from almost 40 events, but even so, our understanding and quantification of socioeconomic impacts of HABs remains incomplete.

The NCCOS Competitive Research Program is pleased to announce a Fiscal Year 2024 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for its Social, Cultural and Economic Assessment of Harmful Algal Blooms (SEAHAB) Program. This funding opportunity seeks to support research and to provide more accurate assessments of the social, cultural and economic impacts of harmful algal bloom (HAB) events at local, state, regional and national scales. This research will better inform the selection of management strategies and methods most appropriate to a specific HAB event and ongoing HAB issues.

The increase in frequency, extent, and variety of HABs has increased society's concerns about the safety of our seafood and drinking water, the health of endangered species, fish and wildlife, the sustainability of beach and lakeside communities, losses to fisheries and aquaculture, increased strain on shrinking state, local, cultural and tribal resources, and long-term aquatic ecosystem changes. Economic costs associated with HAB impacts on public health, fisheries, recreation, and tourism, as well as the use of scarce funds for monitoring and management can be significant for local communities.

NOAA is soliciting proposals to address knowledge gaps in the socioeconomic impacts of HABs. The SEAHAB Program is making $1.5 million available through this competition to fund three to five projects for the first year, and expects to fund selected projects at the level of $300,000 to $400,000 a year, for up to three years in duration.

Full applications are due January 17, 2024. Letters of intent are due by October 13, 2023. View the full NOFO here. NCCOS will host an overview and Q&A webinar for potential applicants on September 6, 2023 (register here).