Science and Research Fund

Previous grant recipients

Since 2020, we have awarded 41 grants and over£1.8 million in funding via the Ocean Stewardship Fund to support research projects. 

2026 projects

Accelerating At Sea Monitoring

• Ocean Outcomes: Advancing Best Practices for At-Sea Monitoring in East Asian Tuna Longline Fisheries  
• Australian Fisheries Management Authority: Building a National Approach to Independent Monitoring: Using Western Australia as a Case Study
• Birdlife South Africa: Regional Workshops on Advancing At-Sea Electronic Monitoring for South African and Namibian fisheries.
• Sinerxia: Accelerating At-Sea Monitoring across the Iberian Atlantic arc
• International Seafood Sustainability Foundation: Advancing At-Sea Monitoring Solutions for Tuna Fisheries

Developing Harvest Control Strategies and Rules

• Hawaii Longline Association: Establishing the Scientific Framework for a North Pacific Swordfish Harvest Strategy
• Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry: Development of a Southwest Pacific Swordfish Harvest Strategy
• Zhejiang Marine Fisheries Research Institute: Optimization of Dynamic Fishing Strategies and Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration Mechanisms for Putian Manila Clam Parent Fishery
• Asosiasi Perikanan Pole & Line dan Handline Indonesia (AP2HI): Improving the Reliability of Operational Catch and Effort Data to Support Harvest Strategy of Skipjack tuna in Indonesia Archipelagic Waters
• University of Alaska Fairbanks: Develop Harvest Control Rules for the NSEI (Chatham Strait) Sablefish Fishery

Applied Research

• A research grant to the University of Queensland builds on significant reductions in the catch of vulnerable shark species in a tuna fishery in Papua New Guinea. Using a five‑year dataset with 100% observer coverage, the project will combine quantitative analysis with fleet operator engagement to identify which interventions drove these improvements, which changes were incidental, and which practices could be applied more widely to other fisheries.