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The University of Florida has received an $80,000 NOAA grant for seagrass restoration and recreational-angler education at Florida’s Big Bend Seagrasses Aquatic Preserve. The preserve covers 984,325 acres, according to Florida’s official listing—nearly, but not more than, 1 million acres. The award is part of a six-grant funding round totaling more than $400,000, Chron reported on October 6, 2026.
What the $80,000 grant will support
Chron reported that the University of Florida’s award is for seagrass restoration and recreational angler education and outreach in the Big Bend Seagrasses Aquatic Preserve. The available award details do not specify the restoration methods, project timeline, or measures that will be used to assess success. The grant announcement therefore describes planned work, not completed restoration results.
Chron reported that NOAA awarded more than $400,000 across six grants benefiting recreational fishing. Other awards it listed include $72,000 to the North Carolina Coastal Federation for shoreline erosion stabilization and marsh restoration at Tyson Point, $59,000 to Trout Unlimited for aquatic invasive species control in Alaska, and a combined $149,000 to two Hawaii Fish Habitat Partnership-sponsored organizations for projects in Maunalua Bay and West Oahu. These award details are from Chron’s report.
How big is the Big Bend preserve?
Florida’s official preserve listing gives the Big Bend Seagrasses Aquatic Preserve an area of 984,325 acres and says it was established in 1985. It extends for more than 150 miles along Florida’s Gulf Coast, from Apalachee Bay south toward the Withlacoochee River. The listing describes recreation and habitat in the preserve: Florida Aquatic Preserves.
The preserve’s total footprint is not the same as the area covered by seagrass. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection reports approximately 240,000 acres of seagrass coverage in the wider Big Bend region, citing the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s seagrass integrated mapping and monitoring report. DEP also describes Big Bend as the eastern Gulf’s second-largest contiguous seagrass habitat: Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
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Why seagrass restoration matters
Seagrass beds provide habitat for sportfish, invertebrates, shorebirds, shellfish, and manatees, according to Florida DEP. The agency lists five species in the region: shoal grass, manatee grass, turtle grass, widgeon grass, and star grass.
DEP identifies prop scarring and nutrient loading as threats. Repeated propeller scarring can make it difficult for new grass to recolonize damaged areas. Nutrient loading can reduce water clarity, limiting the light seagrass needs. The grant announcement does not establish which threats the University of Florida project will address or how much habitat it aims to restore.
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How the grant fits the federal fishing policy
Chron linked the grant round to President Donald J. Trump’s September 17, 2026, executive order, “Restoring American Saltwater Angling and Recreation.” The order directs federal agencies to elevate marine recreational fishing in federal decisions. It states: “This order modernizes Federal management by shifting the Federal posture from restricting recreational access to fishing to actively empowering affiliated industries and coastal communities.” The full order is available from The White House.
The order says outdoor recreation generates more than $1.2 trillion annually and supports more than 5 million jobs. Those figures refer to the outdoor recreation sector as a whole, not recreational fishing alone.
NOAA’s Community-based Restoration Program provides technical and financial assistance for habitat restoration projects that support fisheries and benefit communities and the environment. NOAA says that since 1996 the program has provided more than $217 million for more than 2,200 coastal habitat restoration projects, restored more than 94,000 acres of fish habitat, and opened more than 4,400 stream miles. Those are cumulative program-wide figures, not results from the Big Bend award. NOAA’s page describes the program and its historical record: NOAA Fisheries.
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