Federal funding for Maine Sea Grant has been restored more than two months after President Donald Trump’s administration cut it.
The University of Maine System said Friday that the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration, a unit of the U.S. Department of Commerce, informed it of the restoration this week.
“The groundswell of support for Maine Sea Grant and the stories that have surfaced about its incredible impact on our state’s working waterfronts have been extraordinary and effective. We are deeply appreciative of Senator Collins’ leadership and relentless advocacy on behalf of Maine Sea Grant and the hard-working Mainers it has long served,” University of Maine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy said in a statement. “We look forward to continuing our long-standing partnership with the U.S. Department of Commerce and our state’s coastal communities to promote resilient local jobs and opportunities and a globally competitive marine economy through research-informed innovation.”
The Commerce Department this week awarded about $1.5 million, which will be matched by about $810,000 in funding from outside the federal government, including from the state government and industry sources. That’s consistent with the original four-year agreement the Trump administration rescinded, according to the UMaine System.
Unless cut by Congress, Maine Sea Grant should receive another $3 million and then an additional $1.6 million in matching funds.
On Feb. 28, the NOAA informed UMaine that the agency was immediately terminating the current $4.5 million four-year grant, which was entering its second year.
More than 30 states, Puerto Rico and Guam participate in the national Sea Grant program. No other Sea Grant program has seen its funding cut.
The decision to terminate federal support for Maine Sea Grant came days after Democratic Gov. Janet Mills got into a heated exchange with Trump at a White House event over the state’s inclusive policy toward transgender athletes. Trump has been pressuring Maine and two other states to ban transgender athletes from participating in women’s and girls’ sports, saying they are violating a February executive order and threatening to withhold federal funds.
The U.S. Justice Department is now suing Maine, alleging the state is discriminating against and failing to protect women and girls in violation of Title IX.
The cuts to Maine Sea Grant, which started in 1971, drew stiff opposition from the state’s congressional delegation and even a plea from former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick’s Maine girlfriend, 24-year-old Jordon Hudson, the daughter of a fisherman, to the administration to restore the funding.
After U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she reached out to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, the Commerce Department agreed to renegotiate funding for the Maine Sea Grant program.
“I am thrilled that Maine Sea Grant has received its full funding so that the important work they do to conduct research, support a robust pipeline of skilled labor, and enrich our coastal economies can continue unimpeded,” Collins said in a statement. “Maine Sea Grant provides valuable services for fishermen, lobstermen, hospitality workers, and so many others that rely on our coastal economy.”
Collins’ office did not immediately respond Friday to additional questions on whether she ever received an explanation from the Trump administration on why it initially cut the funding and whether she has any opinions on why it was cut. Collins has avoided saying whether blames Trump for Maine’s federal funding uncertainty after the president started targeting the state.
For every federal dollar invested, it generates $15 in economic activity, adding up to $23.5 million annually. Maine Sea Grant, which started in 1971, supported more than 300 businesses and more than 560 jobs in 2023.
“This vital funding for Maine Sea Grant is not a cost,” lobsterman and marine biologist Curt Brown said Friday. “It is an investment in the future of Maine’s coastal industries and communities, an investment that has paid dividends for decades and will continue to support these iconic industries for generations to come.”
BDN writer Billy Kobin contributed reporting.