Massachusetts

A.I.S.
Integrating an Intelligent Discard Chute into New England Groundfish Electronic Monitoring (MA)
Develop and pilot a solution for electronic monitoring in collaboration with high catch fishing industry partners in the New England groundfish fishery. Project will develop an approach with on vessel artificial intelligence in a discard chute system, wireless video transfer, web-based video review, and integration of broadband vessel monitoring systems and electronic logbooks to incentivize fleet adoption for the high catch New England groundfish trawl vessel fleet.
$455,803

Gulf of Maine Research Institute
Building Maximized Retention Electronic Monitoring Capacity in the New England Groundfish Fishery
Support the implementation of the maximized retention electronic monitoring model in the New England groundfish fishery by piloting a third-party dockside monitoring approach to build regional capacity to support 100 percent monitoring on vessels. Project will facilitate the transition to an industry led effort and support implementation by providing technical assistance to sectors, fishers, and dealers using a maximized retention model to meet their monitoring requirements.
$319,745

Manomet
Coordinating American Oystercatcher Recovery and Conservation along the Atlantic Coast (multiple states)
Coordinate the American Oystercatcher recovery initiative, conduct a range-wide aerial survey to count all wintering oystercatchers along the Southeast Atlantic and Gulf coasts (United States), and reduce the impact of predators and human disturbance on populations of coastal breeding shorebirds. Project will support the goals of the Atlantic Flyway Business Plan by creating a framework for long-term protection, restoration, and creation of shorebird habitat at key sites.
$205,000

Manomet
Western Atlantic Flyway Whimbrel Conservation Program (Multiple States)
Expand on efforts to coordinate conservation and monitor declining whimbrel populations using the western Atlantic Flyway. Project will increase coordination of whimbrel partners working throughout the flyway, address information gaps on whimbrel ecology and demography, and continue development of a monitoring program built around night roosts.
$120,000

Mote Marine Laboratory
Integrating Artificial Intelligence into Reef Fish Fishery Electronic Monitoring (FL)
Continue the Center for Fisheries Electronic Monitoring at Mote’s efforts to streamline artificial intelligence driven data collection processes by creating a repeatable process for generating data and algorithms. Project will make strides in applying artificial intelligence in the Gulf of Mexico reef fish fishery to serve as a foundation for providing more timely and efficient data for management and industry applications.
$349,000

Mystic River Watershed Association
Designing Nature-Based Solutions to Protect Communities and Shorebird Habitat (MA)
Conduct hydrodynamic scenarios with modeling to project the range of future conditions in Belle Isle Marsh and explore nature-based solutions using the model outputs to protect the shoreline and over 250 bird species. Project will develop a hydrodynamic model, create a priority list of recommended interventions, and design concepts for the top three recommendations.
$240,596

National Marine Life Center
Critical Safety Repairs to the National Marine Life Center Rehabilitation Hospital (MA)
Complete facility repairs to bring the National Marine Life Center back on-line for the rehabilitation of stranded pinnipeds in New England. Project will install additional electrical outlets and replace staircases to ensure the safety of staff.
$99,955

The Nature Conservancy
Develop, Test and Deploy Machine Learning to Reduce Storage for Electronic Monitoring of Fisheries (multiple states)
Develop, widely test and deploy open source computer vision tools which identify and trim video segments to reduce archival video storage costs for fisheries electronic monitoring. Project will employ a two-step process where detection of humans is completed during video review and trimming is done only after video review is completed to reduce risk of eliminating important fishing activity and to facilitate adoption by regulators.
$144,889

Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center
Thompson Island Green Ambassadors (MA)
Remove invasive vegetation, monitor native and invasive plant species, and engage in maintenance and construction of 9 miles of trails in the Boston Harbor Islands. Project will directly engage students with hands-on work experience in the areas of conservation and environmental stewardship, and educate them on land and climate resiliency management.
$50,364

Town of Braintree
Restoration and Reconnection of the Monatiquot River (MA)
Remove two obsolete and aging dams which block aquatic organism passage on the Monatiquot River in Braintree, Massachusetts. Project will reconnect 36 upstream miles of unimpeded access for river herring, American eel, and sea lamprey and improve access to 180 acres of river herring spawning and rearing habitat which will strengthen community resilience by reducing flooding risk, protecting nearby infrastructure, and providing protection from storm flows.
$2,535,000

Town of Bridgewater
Restoration and Enhancement of Coastal Resiliency of the Town River (MA)
Remove an obsolete dam and replace an undersized, aging road-stream crossing that are barriers to aquatic organism passage in the watershed of the federally declared Wild and Scenic Taunton River. Project will restore access between the Atlantic Ocean to the Hockomock Swamp and will increase community resilience by removing hazardous flood conditions caused by these structures.
$2,285,000

University of New Hampshire
Building Coastal Resilience for the Broader Great Marsh System of New Hampshire and Massachusetts
Stabilize dunes across the five barrier beach towns of Great Marsh, complete marsh restoration efforts in the Hampton-Seabrook Estuary, conduct a sediment placement pilot in Great Bay Estuary, and create a scholarship initiative focused on climate adaptation across the states. Project will preserve and strengthen the resiliency of broader Great Marsh and reduce human vulnerability to the growing risks from coastal storms and sea-level rise, with direct benefits to fish and wildlife.
$1,519,207

Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society
Operational Support for Marine Mammal Stranding Response Program in Plymouth (MA)
Build organizational capacity to support stranding response efforts for live and dead species of cetaceans and pinnipeds along the coast of Massachusetts. Project will assist in stranding efforts in the region, provide triage and rehabilitation for live stranded animals, and conduct thorough examinations and identification of stranded marine mammals.
$67,755