NOAA Awards $220 Million in Climate-Ready Coasts Grants to Protect Ports and Marine Habitats

WASHINGTON, DC — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced $220 million in competitive grant allocations through the Climate-Ready Coasts initiative, funding 32 high-impact coastal engineering and ecological restoration projects across 16 coastal states and territories.

Strengthening Port Infrastructure and Restoring Coastal Buffers

The funding packages provide capital to raise commercial shipping wharves, construct living rock breakwaters, and restore 15,000 acres of tidal salt marshes and mangrove buffers in vulnerable coastal communities in Louisiana, North Carolina, Florida, and California. NOAA coastal scientists emphasized that living shorelines absorb 80% of storm surge wave energy, protecting coastal highways, wastewater plants, and commercial fishing harbors from catastrophic sea-level rise.

NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad stated that investing in climate-ready coastal infrastructure protects the $9.5 trillion ocean economy and saves coastal communities billions in disaster recovery costs.

Coastal Mayors and Marine Fishery Coalitions Praise

Coastal port authorities commended the grant awards for modernizing commercial freight piers to withstand elevated hurricane storm tides.

Commercial fishing associations praised the restoration of critical estuarine nursery habitats for shrimp, crabs, and finfish.

Project Execution Milestones

Grant agreements will be executed with regional coastal management authorities by November 2026, with construction beginning in spring 2027.