_{Having trouble viewing this email? Click here to view online.}

New Year, New Look!

Winter 2026 • Volume 54, No. 1

In this Issue:

Letter from the Director

In the Spotlight

Save the Date

What's Trending

Program Highlights

Stay In the Know



Lake Ontario, winter 2023. Credit: Roy Widrig/NYSG

Letter from the Director
Becky Shuford, NYSG Director

Hello, New York Sea Grant (NYSG) friends!

As the snowy days of winter wonderland start to ebb, and we flow towards the Ides of March and warmer days ahead we are excited to share with you NY Coastlines' annual edition of program highlights from the past year. In it you will find stories about NYSG partnerships, community-engagement, educational initiatives, and applied science, all driving impactful programming of benefit to those that live, work, and play in and along New York’s coastal waterways.

This time of year also marks the kickoff of the annual Federal budget season. Before we turn to this year’s process, we are thrilled to let you know the fantastic news that last month Sea Grant was included for full level funding in the Federal Fiscal Year 2026 Commerce, Science, and Justice appropriations bill with strong bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. This result is in no small measure due to the amazing support you gave to Sea Grant. It also means that NYSG is able to continue the great work we do to support New York’s coastal communities and economies, exemplified in the highlights that follow.

NYSG can’t thank you enough for the longstanding partnership and support you provide. As we embark on the Federal Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) we once again are asking that you please lend your voice and let your congressional representatives know what NYSG means to you, and ask them to please support Sea Grant with robust funding for FY27. For guidance on how to do so, please visit: www.nyseagrant.org/supportnyseagrant2027.

As always, we thank you deeply for your partnership, your engagement, and your support. NYSG could not do the impactful work we do without you. Without further ado, please read on and enjoy!

Warm wishes,

Becky

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Featured Story

Sea Grant: A Smart Investment in Our Coastal Economy

For over 50 years, the National Sea Grant College Program has supported coastal and Great Lakes communities through research, extension and education. In 2024, a federal investment in Sea Grant of $94 million led to $81.59 billion in economic benefits, which represents nearly a 12:1 impact per federal dollar. As a result of Sea Grant's work in 2024, 2,000 businesses and 21,000 jobs were created or supported. Additionally, 789 graduates were hired in the field and 2.4 million people were reached via educational programs.

Miradyn Feist spent last summer getting hands-on experience in workforce development and learning about Long Island’s oyster industry. Credit: Sumayyah Uddin/NYSG

NYSG's 2025 Highlights

NYSG's Seafood and Safety Guidance resource informs producers in the emerging seaweed industry. Cover art: Georg Pedersen

^{Seaweed Food Safety National Guidance}

To support the growth of emerging seaweed businesses across the U.S., it is essential that producers and processors understand how to identify and control key food safety hazards.

Read the full article >

Summer stewards assist with native species plantings for a living shoreline in Western NY. Credit: Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper

^{Great Lakes
Small Grants}

Local partners, residents, and youth are addressing priority environmental issues across the Great Lakes region of New York.

Read the full article >

Shorefront Park living shoreline, Patchogue, NY. Credit: Kathleen M. Fallon/NYSG

^{NY’s Natural/Nature-Based Features}

New York Sea Grant proposes ways to advance the use of natural and nature-based features to build resilient shoreline practices across New York State.

Read the full article >

NYSG Currents: Save the Date

Read about upcoming NY Sea Grant events and deadlines.

✓  NYSG's New York Coastal Resilience Law and Policy Program Summer Fellowships: Applications are being accepted through 2/20. More info >

✓  Oyster Shucking Workshop: Join NYSG at North Fork Brewery in Riverhead (2/27), where a NY oyster farmer will show you how to shuck your own oysters. More info >

✓  NYSG's 2026 Community Engaged (CEI) Fellowship Program: Applications are being accepted for three summer opportunities through 3/10: (1) Bronx Natural and Nature-Based Features Monitoring (Location: The Bronx/NYC); (2) East End Waterways Ambassador (Location: Stony Brook University, LI); Great Lakes Community Case Studies & Digital Outreach (Location: University at Buffalo) More info >

✓  Long Island Funding Workshop: Deadline is 3/11 to register for this 3rd Annual event, scheduled for 3/18 at Hyatt Regency Long Island in Hauppauge, NY. The Long Island Sound Partnership and NYSG Sustainable and Resilient Communities team welcomes municipal officials and staff, nonprofits, community organizations, and other interested parties to engage in discussions with funders to explore project ideas and ways to improve funding applications. Attendees will also hear from a panel of successful awardees about their experiences and strategies. More info >

✓  Long Island Sound Partnership Research Program: Deadline is 3/19 to submit proposals for the latest cycle of projects, which are slated to run from January 1, 2027, to December 31, 2028. More info >

✓  NY’s Great Lakes Basin Small Grants Program: Deadline is 3/27 to submit proposals for the latest cycle of projects, which are slated to run from July 1, 2026 – December 31, 2027. More info >

✓  Seafood Summit: Register for downstate (3/27), midstate (4/8), and upstate (4/9) events..More info >

✓  Office Hours Series: NYSG's 2026 seafood and aquaculture-focused webinars continue, with the next virtual event scheduled for 4/2.. More info >

✓  2026 Seafood HACCP Trainings: 4/28 (Virtual); 8/11 (Stony Brook Innovation and Discovery Center, Stony Brook, NY); 12/8 (Virtual). Registration required. More info >
✓  Aquatic Foods Conference: Registration will open in the New Year for this NYSG-hosted conference (5/19-20) in Long Beach, NY. More info >

✓  2026 Long Island Sound Research Conference: 6/4-5 in Mystic, CT. Abstract submissions open 2/16 with a 4/3 deadline. Registration, agenda, and further information to be announced. More info >

NYSG Currents: What's Trending

_{Read a sampling of stories that have made waves recently in the media, on our social channels, and with our partners.}

✓  2026 Knauss Finalists: Three NYSG finalists will join their peers this spring to work in either executive branch agencies or Congressional offices, advancing federal initiatives in coastal and marine science and policy issues. Learn more >

✓  2025 Knauss Fellows: NYSG catches up with its 2025 fellows who have just completed their year-long John A. Knauss Fellowship experience. Learn more >

✓  Sustainable Dune Management: NYSG applied technical expertise and meaningful community engagement to advance shoreline resilience in a Lake Ontario community. Learn more >

✓  Navigating Marine Aquaculture Permitting: Workshop and Guide: NYSG helps participants with the process of acquiring marine aquaculture permits and learning how to submit a well-developed application. Learn more >

✓  Enhancing Land Use Decision-Making With AdaptTable: NYSG has created a hands-on learning experience that helps local leaders and stakeholders to better communicate with one another, build consensus, and solve complex problems through land-use decisions. Learn more >

✓  NYSG Bay Scallop Mortality Research Sustains New York Fishery: NYSG co-funded research is used to identify drivers that cause bay scallop mass die-off and to provide a solution to build long-term resiliency in the fishery. Learn more >

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

Read more NYSG research, extension, and education highlights via NYSG’s news archive→

New York Sea Grant Administration & Research

Research and Development Park, Innovation and Discovery Center / Suite 221 /

500 Innovation Rd. / Stony Brook, NY 11794

E: nyseagrant@stonybrook.edu / P: 631.632.6905

New York Sea Grant Administration & Extension

112 Rice Hall / Cornell University / Ithaca, NY 14853-5601

E: SGIthaca@cornell.edu / P: 607.255.2386

For a list of NYSG's offices and staff, visit

www.nyseagrant.org/nysgstaff

New York Sea Grant provides equal opportunities in employment and programming.

New York Sea Grant (NYSG) is a statewide partnership program of the State University of New York (SUNY), Cornell University, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that integrates research, education, and extension to deliver science-based solutions for environmental stewardship, economic vitality, and resilience across New York’s marine and Great Lakes regions.

New York Coastlines is a product of NYSG project C/PC-15 funded under award NA24OARX417C0158-T1-01 granted to the Research Foundation for SUNY on behalf of NYSG from the National Sea Grant College Program of the U.S. Department of Commerce's NOAA.