Prevention, Control, and Mitigation of Harmful Algal Blooms (PCMHAB) Program

Prevention, Control, and Mitigation of Harmful Algal Blooms (PCMHAB) Program is sponsored by National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS). This program supports research to prevent, control, and mitigate harmful algal blooms, which directly impact coastal ecosystems and the communities that rely on them.

PCMHAB - NCCOS - National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science Prevention, Control, and Mitigation of The Prevention, Control, and Mitigation of Harmful Algal Blooms (PCMHAB) program funds research to move promising technologies for preventing, controlling, or mitigating HABs and their impacts through development, to demonstration, and, finally application, culminating in widespread use in the field by end-users.

PCMHAB is a national, peer-reviewed, competitive research funding program. Benefits to the public include healthier fisheries and ecosystems, fewer impacts of blooms on humans and the environment, reductions in nuisance or harmful algae and decreased costs for states, tribes, and local governments in monitoring and managing HABs and their impacts.

Field projects to develop methods of controlling HABs must comply with guidelines developed through the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). A Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) lays out the types of field research and demonstration projects that can be conducted through the PCMHAB program for the next five years. The PEA also describes limitations, monitoring, and requirements associated with field demonstration.

PCMHAB was authorized by the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act (HABHRCA , 33 U.S.C. §§ 4001 et seq. ) in 1998 and reauthorized in 2004, 2014, and 2017 .

PCMHAB’s priority areas include: Develop – Assess and evaluate novel and unproven HAB technologies and strategies Demonstrate – Test or validate novel and promising HAB technologies/strategies in the field Transfer – Facilitate the transition of proven HAB technologies to end-users Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) announcements for PCMHAB and other national competitive HAB programs are published on Grants. gov .

Check back for available funding. The NCCOS Competitive Research Program is pleased to announce a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the PCMHAB Program. Informational webinar recording Webinar questions and answers April 14, 2026 by 11:59 p.

m. ET – Deadline for required letters of intent (LOIs) July 9, 2026 by 11:59 p. m.

ET – Deadline for Full Applications Using Microcystin-degrading Bacteria and their Enzymes for Treatment (2020) Application of Clay Flocculation for Removal of Karenia brevis Cells and Toxins in Southwest Florida Coastal Waters (2021) United States Harmful Algal Bloom Control Technologies Incubator (2022) View HAB event responses since 2015 that received funding support from the HABER Program; responses organized by funding recipient in each region and state.

Responding to Harmful Algal Bloom – Sitka Tribe of Alaska ($12,950) Responding to Multispecies Mortality Event Occurring in Norton Sound Region ($15,000) Testing Tribal Shellfish for Toxin in Southwest Alaska ($48,507) Collecting Real-Time Harmful Algal Bloom Data in Alaska ($29,923) Communicating Harmful Algal Bloom Risk to Communities in the Bering Strait Region ($15,000) Investigating Unusual Marine Animal Mortalities and Possible Harmful Algal Bloom around Kachemak Bay ($5,000) Responding to Multispecies Mortality Event in St.

George Island, Alaska ($5,344) Sampling Harmful Algal Bloom In Kachemak Bay ($19,800) Responding to Unusual Harmful Algal Bloom ($7,880) Helping New England Respond to Unprecedented Harmful Algal Bloom ($22,000) Investigating Diamondback Terrapin Die-Offs ($5,400) Responding to Ongoing Harmful Algal Blooms in Long Island ($19,000) Assessing Impacts of Bioluminescent Algae on Chesapeake Bay Fisheries ($3,000) Protecting Chesapeake Bay Oyster Aquaculture from Harmful Algal Blooms ($8,200) Responding to Ongoing HAB in the Lower Chesapeake Bay ($6,820) Assessing Martin County Threat of Blue-green Algal Toxin ($9,273) Monitoring Brown Tide in Indian River Lagoon ($7,096) Studying Airborne Health Risks from Cyanobacteria Blooms ($5,000) Investigating Unusual Fish Behavior in the Florida Keys ($25,000) Supporting Sargassum Response ($38,467) Responding to Cyanobacterial Blooms in the Northern Gulf ($11,640) Responding to Red Tide ($19,200) Examining Sea Turtle Mortalities and Dietary Exposure to Red Tide Toxins ($10,045) Testing Treatment for Birds Sickened by Red Tide ($8,250) Sampling Ongoing Red Tide to Determine Impacts ($28,000) Quantifying Toxin Accumulation in Seabirds and Prey Fish ($7,820) Responding to Cyanobacterial Blooms in Lake Pontchartrain Caused by Opening Bonnet Carre Spillway ($12,907) Reducing Migratory Duck Mortality on Padre Island ($5,000) Responding to Southern California Harmful Algal Bloom Event ($14,250) Investigating Bioluminescent Red Tide Event Off Southern California Coast ($17,950) Responding to Harmful Algal Bloom in the San Francisco Bay ($15,420) Responding to Harmful Algal Bloom Following Marine Mammal Strandings in Southern California ($12,550) Responding to Marine Mammal Mortality Event Occurring in Southern California ($4,520) Explaining Harmful Algal Bloom ($13,000) Assessing Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning Risk in Southern Washington ($19,762) Responding to Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning Outbreak in Oregon ($6,000) Contact Felix Martinez , PCMHAB Coordinator For additional HAB Competitive Research Programs visit Ecology and Oceanography of HABs Monitoring and Event Response for HABs Social, Cultural, and Economic Assessment of HABs NCCOS projects identify and evaluate a range of methods to prevent, control or mitigate blooms of harmful algae in ways that are safe for the environment.