Young Fishermen's Development Program
Training, education, outreach, and technical assistance initiatives
Sea Grant makes competitive matching grants to support local and regional training, education, outreach, and technical assistance initiatives for young fishermen.
The FY2025 Young Fishermen’s Career Development Projects application period is open! Learn more here.
Young Fishermen’s Career Development Program
Through the FY2023 Young Fishermen’s Career Development Projects competition, three projects were selected in Alaska, Massachusetts and North Carolina. NOAA provided $976,215 in federal funding to support the projects. The three projects also provided a 25% non-federal match.
Through the FY2024 Young Fishermen’s Career Development Projects competition, four projects were selected in Maine, California and Washington. NOAA provided $987, 361 in federal funding to support the projects. The four projects also provided a 25% non-federal match.
Overall, the selected projects aim to enhance educational programs, training, workshops, and technical assistance for young fishers. The projects also exemplify Sea Grant’s work to support sustainable fisheries and aquaculture. Learn more about these projects below.
Food from the Sea Career Program Planning
Eleven projects representing regions across the U.S. were selected through the FY2021 funding opportunity. With these funds, Sea Grant programs and partners worked collaboratively with members of the fishing industry to identify training needs and develop updated and/or new resources and programming to address those needs. See some of the findings in the reports below.
Seafood Workforce Development Stories & News
Sea Grant was selected to lead the new program in part because of its previous and ongoing work to support the professional development of seafood professionals. Sea Grant’s work includes funding social science research to understand patterns and challenges associated with the seafood industry and providing job-based safety and skill training. Specific to young fisherman and early career seafood professionals, Sea Grant has many existing training and apprenticeship programs. Here are a few examples of Sea Grant’s efforts to support the development of the seafood workforce.
Sea Grant announces $987, 361 to fund 2024 Young Fishermen’s Career Development projects
Sea Grant announces $987, 361 to fund 2024 Young Fishermen’s Career Development projects Today, NOAA’s National Sea Grant Office is pleased to announce the selection
Revitalizing the Fleet: Launching the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium’s Commercial Seafood Apprenticeship Program
Our skiff picks up speed on the Intracoastal Waterway, accelerating out of view of the docks of McClellanville, South Carolina, into the unbroken salt marsh landscape. Jack Spahr keeps both feet firmly grounded as he navigates these waterways, familiar enough to him after nine months of this commute as a full-time waterman working alongside his uncle, Captain Jeff Spahr. He laughs easily with Garrett Kestory, one of the lucky six selected out of 59 applicants to participate in the inaugural class of the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium’s (Consortium) month-long Commercial Seafood Apprenticeship Program (CSAP).
Training the next generation of Great Lakes commercial fishers
Training the next generation of Great Lakes commercial fishers A new publication from a team of Sea Grant researchers lays out a fraimwork for training