NSF Seafood Engine in New England wins $15M U.S. National Science Foundation award to strengthen fisheries and aquaculture

July 15, 2026
Fishing in New England was the first commercial enterprise of the United States, laying the foundation for a powerful maritime economy that continues to support coastal communities here. (Photo/Rhode Island Sea Grant)

July 15, 2026

The U.S. National Science Foundation announced a major new award to bolster the American seafood industry through the NSF Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) program within the Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships. The NSF Seafood Engine in New England, led by the Portsmouth-based non-profit NERACOOS, is a collaboration of seafood industry, tech sector, government, and research partners across Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, including the Commercial Fisheries Center of Rhode Island (CFCRI), the Ocean Tech Hub, Rhode Island Commerce Corporation, Rhode Island Sea Grant (URI GSO), and the University of Rhode Island.

The NSF Seafood Engine aims to grow New England’s historical seafood industry and rising tech sector into even stronger and more profitable pillars of the regional and national economy. (URI Photo / Nora Lewis)

This innovation ecosystem aims to revitalize the seafood sector through cutting-edge technology. This award will position New England to lead the nation in meeting the goals outlined in the Executive Order on Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness.

“NSF Engines investments in critical technologies and future industries will transform America’s innovation infrastructure for decades to come,” said Brian Stone, performing the duties of the NSF director. “The NSF Seafood Engine will leverage cutting-edge resources including AI, advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, robotics and more to strengthen the New England seafood supply chain, from harvesting to consumer delivery, supporting businesses up and down the coastline.”

At the heart of the Seafood Engine strategy is mobilizing technological innovation like those found at URI. Here: Alexandra Runyan ’23, a former URI ocean engineering graduate student, views the seafloor in real time using a novel fiber optic camera system she developed. (URI Photo/Brennan Phillips)

The Seafood Engine will initially receive an award of $15 million over two years, with the potential to grow up to $160 million over ten years as it works to build an internationally competitive technology and innovation cluster. This core funding from NSF creates an unprecedented opportunity to leverage additional resources from public, private, and philanthropic sources to expand the partnership and scale its outcomes. The NSF Engine strives to enhance the competitiveness of fisheries and aquaculture, a pillar of New England’s economy that accounts for 25% of the nation’s seafood value. The technological solutions can be rolled out nationwide, propelling the American seafood industry to a stronger position within the global market.

“Built on the ingenuity and steadfast determination at the heart of America’s oldest commercial enterprise, the Seafood Engine is ready to confront key challenges facing the industry with bold innovation,” said Jake Kritzer, Principal Investigator of the Seafood Engine and Executive Director of NERACOOS.

At the outset, the Seafood Engine will:

  • Support an exciting portfolio of R&D projects that bring together seafood harvesters, academic experts, and tech companies aimed at building ocean intelligence through state-of-the-art sensors deployed from fishing vessels and aquaculture farms.
  • Form a consortium of regional seafood apprenticeship programs at the center of the Engine’s Workforce Development strategy through which new entrants can participate in R&D projects and operationalize their innovations.
  • Provide funding to blue tech companies that have passed the R&D phase and need support to bring products to commercialization through the Translation of Innovation to Impact strategy.

Over time, new R&D, Workforce Development, and Translation activities will work to reshore American seafood processing capacity and strengthen the full supply chain. Together, these efforts will bring new opportunities to small and medium firms across the New England coastline and cut into the $20B seafood deficit facing American businesses.

Rhode Island’s Seafood Engine participants and its partners will help the region bring critical tools to enhance ocean intelligence, advance innovations from research to commercialization, strengthen the regional supply chain, and develop the next generation workforce essential to growing the U.S. seafood industry.

“Rhode Island Commerce and the Ocean Tech Hub are helping to drive the next generation of ocean tech innovation,” said Rhode Island Secretary of Commerce Stefan Pryor. “The NSF Seafood Engine funding will further support our ability to advance ideas to commercialization and to build upon our state and our region’s strong ocean economy.”

“The University of Rhode Island is thrilled to be a Seafood Engine partner,” said Bethany Jenkins, URI Vice President for Research and Economic Development. “The Engine integrates our expertise in aquaculture, fisheries and blue technology advances and draws on our deep community networks built through being the home of RI’s Sea Grant Program. Our team is led by Dr. Marta Gomez-Chiarri, a collaborative and visionary international leader in aquaculture research and innovation.”

“We are breathing new life into our commercial fisheries, through workforce development and our 9th year of Apprentices in southern New England,” said CFCRI co-executive directors Fred Mattera and Shaye Rooney in a joint statement. “With an infusion of 10 new, young and eager apprentices that are presently all onboard working fishing vessels. Enduring 4 weeks of intense training in: safety drills, safety equipment use and inspection, navigation, seamanship, deck safety, mending and knot tying, watchkeeping, stability, First Aid, CPR and AED, all experienced hands-on training!”

Government leaders from across the Seafood Engine region of service, including Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee and Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, welcomed the news from NSF.

“The seafood, fisheries, and aquaculture industries are vital components of the Ocean State’s economy and culture. Today’s NSF Engines award strengthens Rhode Island’s partnership with our New England peers and reinforces our leadership in advancing and growing the U.S. seafood industry. Thank you to the NSF and our Seafood Engine partners – we look forward to achieving our goals together,” said McKee.

“Massachusetts’ commercial fishing industry is powered by hardworking fishermen, family-owned businesses and coastal communities that have helped define our state for generations. This investment will strengthen those communities by supporting innovation, expanding our workforce and helping to ensure our seafood industry remains competitive for years to come. Congratulations to all of the partners who made this achievement possible,” added Healey.

In early summer 2024, the Seafood Engine submitted one of nearly 300 letters of intent in response to the second NSF Engines funding opportunity. The preliminary proposal was selected as one of 71 to advance to the next round of competition. Following a merit review, the Seafood Engine was one of 29 teams to share a detailed presentation about their proposed NSF Engine. From this process, 15 finalists were selected to participate in two-day site visits with NSF staff and external experts. The Seafood Engine is one of 12 NSF Engines award winners selected from among these finalists.

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About the Seafood Engine
The NSF Seafood Engine in New England, led by the Northeastern Regional Association of Coastal Ocean Observing Systems (NERACOOS), is working to revitalize a legacy industry by leveraging advanced technologies that reduce the national seafood deficit and strengthen every level of the seafood supply chain. Learn more at seafoodengine.org.