About the Board

The Board recommends marine research to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to be funded through a competitive grant program using part of the interest earned from the Environmental Improvement and Restoration Fund (EIRF) created under the same law. The EIRF was part of a large settlement ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court pertaining to a dispute over land in the Arctic known as Dinkum Sands. The enabling legislation requires the funds to be used to conduct research on or relating to the fisheries or marine ecosystems in the North Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea, and Arctic Ocean, including lesser known bodies of water. By law, NPRB must strive to avoid duplicating other research and to emphasize research designed to address pressing fishery management issues or marine ecosystem  information needs. The Board was organized in 2001 and adopted operating principles and procedures in 2002.