(a) This section sets forth the basic purposes for which Sea Grant funding may be made pursuant to the following sections of the Act: 33 U.S.C. 1124,1127,1125. These sections provide for the funding of programs and projects in fields related to ocean and coastal resources that involve marine research, marine education and training, and marine advisory services. However, there is a significant difference in focus among these sections since section 1124(a) is concerned chiefly with regional and state needs relative to ocean and coastal resources (including the funding of Sea Grant Fellowships under section 1127) while section 1125 is concerned with national needs and problems relative to ocean and coastal resources, and section 1124a is concerned with programs of international cooperation assistance with respect to those resources.
(b) Comment: Statutory citation 33 U.S.C. 1124(a):
In General. The Secretary may make grants and enter into contracts under this subsection to assist any Sea Grant program or project if the Secretary finds that such program or project will—
(1) Implement the objective set forth in Section 202(b); and
(2) Be responsive to the needs or problems of individual states or regions.
The total amount paid pursuant to any such grant or contract may equal 66
2/3 percent, or any lesser percent, of the total cost of the Sea Grant program or project involved.
(c) Comment: Statutory citation 33 U.S.C. 1127(a):
In General. The Secretary may enter into contracts and make grants under this section to—
(1) Enhance the research and development capability of developing foreign nations with respect to ocean and coastal resources.
(2) Promote the international exchange of information and data with respect to the assessment, development, utilization, and conservation of such resources.
(a) The term Act means the Sea Grant Program Improvement Act of 1976, as amended (33 U.S.C. 1121 et seq.).
(b) The term Secretary means the Secretary of Commerce.
(c) The term Administrator means the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
(d) The term Office of Sea Grant means the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Sea Grant, which administers the National Sea Grant Program provided for in the Act.
(e) The term objective of the Act means the objective set forth at 33 U.S.C. 1121(b) and is “is to increase the understanding, assessment, development, utilization, and conservation of the Nation's ocean and coastal resources by providing assistance to promote a strong educational base, responsive research and training activities, and broad and prompt dissemination of knowledge and techniques.”
(f) The term ocean and coastal resource(s) is as defined at 33 U.S.C. 1122(7) and means:
any resource (whether living, nonliving, manmade, tangible, intangible, actual, or potential) which is located in, derived from, or traceable to, the marine environment.
Such term includes the habitat of any such living resource, the coastal space, the ecosystems, the nutrient rich areas, and the other components of the marine environment which contribute to or provide (or which are capable of contributing to or providing) recreational, scenic, esthetic, biological, habitational, commercial, economic, or conservation values. Living resources include natural and cultured plant life, fish, shellfish, marine mammals, and wildlife. Nonliving resources include energy sources, minerals, and chemical substances.
(g) The term marine environment used in the definition for “ocean and coastal resources” in § 917.2(e) and used elsewhere in these regulations is as defined at 33 U.S.C. 1122(6) and means:
the coastal zone, as defined in Section 304(1) of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453(1)); the seabed, subsoil, and waters of the territorial sea of the United States; the waters of any zone over which the United States asserts exclusive fishery management authority; the waters of the high seas; and the seabed and subsoil of and beyond the outer Continental Shelf.
(h) The term person is as defined at 33 U.S.C. 1122(9) and means: “any individual; any public or private corporation, partnership, or other association or entity (including any Sea Grant College, Sea Grant Regional Consortium, education, institute, or laboratory); or any state, political subdivision of a state, or agency or officer thereof.”
(i) The term Sea Grant College is as defined at 33 U.S.C. 1122(10) and means: “any public or private institution of higher education which is designated as such by the Secretary . . .” pursuant to regulations promulgated at 15 CFR part 918.
(j) The term Sea Grant Program is as defined at 33 U.S.C. 1122(11) and means: “any program which” (1) is administered by a Sea Grant College, Sea Grant Regional Consortium, institution of higher education, institute, laboratory, or state or local agency; and (2) includes two or more projects involving one or more of the following activities in fields related to ocean and coastal resources:
(i) Research,
(ii) Education,
(iii) Training, or
(iv) Advisory services.
(k) The term Sea Grant Program Directors means the local Directors of the Sea Grant coherent area programs, insititutional programs, Sea Grant Colleges, and Sea Grant Regional Consortia.
(l) The term Sea Grant Regional Consortium is as defined at 33 U.S.C. 1122(12) and means: “any association or alliance which is designated as such by the Secretary . . .” pursuant to regulations promulgated at 15 CFR part 918.
(m) The term state is as defined at 33 U.S.C. 1122 (14) and means: “any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Mariana Islands, or any other territory or possession of the United States.”
(n) The term developing foreign nations includes any foreign nation other than a foreign nation that is ineligible for designation under section 502(b) of the Trade Act of 1974, (19 U.S.C. 2462(b)) as a beneficiary developing country under Title of that Act.