2026 Grant Awards

Grant Awards by Fiscal Year: 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | Previous Years

Projects Funded by the Marine Mammal Commission in Fiscal Year 2026

Topic A: Research/Projects - Advancing Technologies and Methods to Improve Marine Mammal Stock Assessments and Mitigate Impacts

Evaluating on-demand and alternative fishing gear to reduce whale entanglements in the Washington and Oregon coastal Dungeness crab fishery

Biggs, C.

Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife

This project will evaluate how on-demand fishing gear can be safely and effectively integrated into the Washington and Oregon Dungeness crab fishery, which supports state-level Conservation Plans and advances a potentially practical, fisher-inclusive pathway for reducing whale entanglement risk while sustaining Dungeness crab fishing opportunities.

Improving assessment of humpback and blue whale abundance and trends in the eastern North Pacific in a reduced funding environment tapping opportunistic sources

Calambokidis, J.

Cascadia Research Collective

This project aims to: 1) evaluate how accurately community-based opportunistic identifications of U.S. west coast humpback and blue whale can be used to estimate stock abundance and trends , 2) identify the most cost-effective methods, locations, and areas to supplement opportunistic only effort with dedicated surveys to achieve accurate abundance estimates, and 3) extend abundance data on humpback whales two years through 2026 to continue to inform Take Reduction Teams and other efforts to address whale entanglements.

Turning space-based dolphin detections into actionable data: Ground-truthing & machine learning

Himes Boor, G.

National Marine Mammal Foundation

This project aims to further advance methods to detect free-swimming dolphins from very high resolution (VHR) satellite images and automate the process using artificial intelligence (AI), including addressing two primary obstacles: 1) rigorously ground-truthing satellite-based detections, and 2) developing a sufficiently large library of high-certainty detections to train AI models.

Mitigating vessel strike risk in San Francisco Bay by integrating education, monitoring, and maritime collaboration

Humphrey, S.

Marine Exchange of the San Francisco Bay Region

This project aims to develop a coordinated gray whale vessel strike risk reduction initiative integrating education, research, and maritime collaboration, which will enhance characterization of vessel strike risk; advance research on gray whale distribution, health, and ecology; and develop and evaluate vessel strike mitigation measures.

A low-cost evaluation of the transferability of a mesh fence to reduce odontocete bycatch in trawl fisheries

Myers, H.

University of Alaska, Fairbanks

This project aims to rigorously evaluate the use of a low-cost mesh fence that has demonstrated success in reducing killer whale bycatch in the Bering Sea deep-water flatfish fishery and test its utility in the Sihanoukville trawl fishery in Cambodia, including an evaluation of the transferability of this risk-reduction tool to other U.S. trawl fisheries in which odontocete mortality and serious injury occurs.

Assessing shifts in fisheries bycatch risk for odontocetes on the U.S. East Coast

Thorne, L.

Stony Brook University

This project aims to: 1) provide an improved description of current seasonal habitat use and seasonal variability in density for harbor porpoises and bottlenose dolphins in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast U.S.; 2) assess whether spatiotemporal patterns in fisheries interactions are explained by observed range shifts for these species; and 3) use these findings to assess and suggest how mitigation measures, such as avoidance programs or closure areas, could be made current and effective in decreasing fisheries bycatch.

Developing eDNA metabarcoding to improve cetacean spatial distribution modeling and habitat assessment: a pilot study with humpback whales

Van Cise, A.

University of Washington

This project aims to develop genetic markers to specifically improve assessments of abundance and distribution of humpback whale Demographically Independent Populations (DIPs) in the California Current and test the use of DIP-specific distribution and abundance data in high resolution Species Distribution Models to improve the understanding of DIP-specific habitat use in the summer along the coast of Washington State; this work will further refine eDNA approaches broadly for use with all cetacean species.

Advancing innovative pop-up gear to reduce whale entanglement in California trap fisheries

Wells, G.

National Marine Sanctuary Foundation

The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation is collaborating with commercial fishermen to test and refine pop-up or on-demand fishing gear and systems under real-world fishing conditions; this program will expand field testing into additional fisheries, including deeper-water environments, while growing the Foundation’s Gear Lending Library and broadening engagement across California’s fixed-gear fishing community. Data and insights generated will support voluntary adoption by fishermen, provide gear manufacturers with performance feedback, and inform regulatory efforts to authorize alternative gear and reduce the impacts of fishery closures.