Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Gulf Coast CESU | G20AS00119

Grant Opportunity FAQs: Gulf Coast CESU (USGS) - Recreational Freshwater Fish Harvest Estimation

What is the name of this grant opportunity?

The opportunity is issued through the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU), Gulf Coast CESU, under Funding Opportunity Number G20AS00119.

Which federal agency is offering this funding?

The funding call is issued by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) under the U.S. Department of the Interior.

What type of funding mechanism is being used?

This is a USGS discretionary funding opportunity intended to be awarded through a cooperative agreement.

What is the main purpose of the project?

The project aims to improve fisheries management by producing a large-scale estimate of recreational fish harvest from inland waters.

Is the goal limited to one region, or is it intended to become national?

The award is structured as a regional pilot focused on the Southeast United States, with a longer-term intention of developing a scalable approach that can later expand into a nationwide picture of freshwater recreational harvest and angler use.

Why does USGS consider this work increasingly important?

USGS frames this work as increasingly important under climate change conditions. Managers need a defensible baseline of where and how much recreational fishing pressure is occurring in order to spot emerging problems, anticipate shifts in fish populations and angler behavior, and prioritize management actions.

What management need is this project trying to address?

The project is intended to help managers understand where, how much, and how recreational fishing pressure is occurring in inland waters, supporting better decisions and prioritization of management actions.

What specific data problem is the opportunity trying to solve?

A central challenge identified by USGS is that freshwater recreational fisheries data in the United States are fragmented across states and local jurisdictions.

Why is freshwater recreational fisheries data described as fragmented?

Inland fisheries are shaped by highly variable state and local regulations, different reporting systems, and diverse fisheries that change over time due to ecological dynamics, social trends, and environmental conditions. These differences make data inconsistent across jurisdictions and fisheries.

Why is it not enough to simply aggregate existing data?

Because data are inconsistent across jurisdictions and fisheries, straightforward aggregation is not sufficient to produce reliable large-scale harvest estimates.

What kind of analytical approach does USGS emphasize for this work?

USGS emphasizes modeling approaches that can integrate disparate data sources, account for regulatory and ecological differences, and generate comparable estimates across broad geographic areas.

What is the Southeast pilot expected to produce?

The pilot is meant to develop and test the analytical methodology, the data integration workflow, and the estimation framework needed to quantify harvest and angler use at a large scale.

How is the Southeast pilot expected to support future work?

The expectation is that lessons learned in the Southeast pilot will be used to build a scalable approach that can later be expanded to a national framework.

What geographic area is the pilot focused on?

The opportunity describes the work as a regional pilot focused on the Southeast United States.

What subject area does the project focus on?

The focus is on inland (freshwater) recreational fisheries, specifically estimating recreational fish harvest and angler use at a large scale.

How many awards does USGS anticipate making under this opportunity?

USGS anticipates making a single award.

What is the maximum funding amount available?

The award ceiling is $200,000.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is limited to partners within the CESU network, specifically those associated with the Gulf Coast CESU. The listing indicates "Others" and directs applicants to additional eligibility details in the full notice.

Does this opportunity appear to be open to the general public?

Based on the information provided, eligibility is limited to CESU partners associated with the Gulf Coast CESU, rather than being broadly open to any applicant.

What is the Funding Opportunity Number (FON)?

The Funding Opportunity Number is G20AS00119.

What CFDA number is associated with this opportunity?

The opportunity is associated with CFDA number 15.808.

When was the opportunity originally posted?

The opportunity was originally posted on July 1, 2020.

What was the original closing date?

The original closing date was July 22, 2020.

Is the work described as science and technology research and development?

Yes. The call is described as supporting science and technology research and development through a cooperative agreement.

What makes the expected estimate "defensible" according to the description?

USGS emphasizes the need for model-based approaches that integrate disparate data sources and account for regulatory and ecological differences, with the aim of producing comparable estimates across broad geographic areas that managers can rely on as a baseline.

What is the longer-term management outcome USGS highlights?

The longer-term intention is to develop a nationwide picture of freshwater recreational harvest and angler use that fisheries managers can use both now and under future climate-driven change.

Why is angler use mentioned alongside harvest?

The pilot is intended to quantify both harvest and angler use at a large scale, reflecting the need to understand recreational fishing pressure in terms of both what is taken (harvest) and how anglers use inland waters (use/effort patterns) for management planning.