NOAA Fisheries Announces Availability of $99 Million for Pacific Salmon

NOAA Fisheries announced up to $99 million in funding through the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund for conservation and recovery projects that support Pacific salmon.

The funding supports Administration priorities by improving habitat and other actions to increase the production of salmon and steelhead that contribute to U.S. fisheries. Stronger fisheries make the U.S. seafood sector more competitive, as described in the Executive Order on Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness. Competitive fisheries create jobs and put more domestic seafood on American dinner plates.

"The Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund has a strong track record of supporting states and tribes in completing projects that support the economy," said Eugenio Piñeiro Soler, Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries. "The projects help increase Pacific salmon populations, which sustain federal ocean fisheries and benefit tribes."

Fishing guide Butch Smith said healthy fisheries need healthy habitat. "Habitat is our savings account-it's our bank account that supports the salmon we rely on," said Smith, who is also vice chair of the Pacific Fishery Management Council. "When we take care of it, we see a huge return on that investment, not just to the Northwest, but to the nation and everyone who values this great salmon resource."

The application process will prioritize projects that meet the mandates of the Executive Order on Gold Standard Science. Applicants are encouraged to submit interdisciplinary budgets and adopt open-data protocols that facilitate independent replication and improve public trust, as required by the Executive Order.

The funding will go to projects that provide demonstrable benefits for West Coast salmon and steelhead. The projects provide jobs while underway, often in rural areas where the projects also provide business for local contractors. Funding from base appropriations and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act are included within this funding opportunity announcement.

Research has found that most protected salmon and steelhead that have been the focus of habitat improvements have increased in number, reflecting the benefits of habitat restoration. For example, improvements in river habitat for Oregon Coast coho salmon have helped strengthen the coho population enough to support a popular recreational fishery. This has increased economic activity in coastal communities.

These projects and activities are necessary for:

• Conserving salmon and steelhead populations listed as threatened or endangered, or identified by a state as at-risk to be listed
• Maintaining salmon and steelhead populations necessary for exercise of tribal treaty fishing rights or native subsistence fishing
• Conserving Pacific coastal salmon and steelhead habitat

NOAA will accept proposals for funding of up to $25 million from eligible applicants from Alaska, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, and federally-recognized tribes of the Columbia River Basin and Pacific coast (including Alaska).

View more information and instructions for applying. The application deadline is June 29th, 2026. Recommended proposal selections are expected to be announced in September, 2026.