Dana Morse, an aquaculture researcher with Maine Sea Grant, checks on ear-hung scallops attached to an anchor chain on a mussel raft along the Damariscotta River in South Bristol on June 8, 2016. The federal government is discontinuing a $4.5 million grant program for Maine Sea Grant, a University of Maine System spokesperson said Saturday. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald

ROCKPORT — The federal government is discontinuing a $4.5 million grant program for Maine Sea Grant, one of the state’s prominent fishery organizations, as one of the first major cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration amid President Donald Trump’s efforts to slash budgets and issue grant restrictions.

The University of Maine System, which oversees Maine Sea Grant, said it was notified Friday night that NOAA was terminating a four-year agreement for funding that had gone into effect Feb. 1, according to UMaine System spokesperson Samantha Warren.

The move leaves 20 employees and Maine Sea Grant’s programming in limbo.

“This notice is devastating for our team and countless partners, the University of Maine and the entire state,” Maine Sea Grant Director Gayle Zydlewski said in a written statement.

Maine Sea Grant runs business development, research, marine science education and outreach and says it fosters $23.5 million in annual economic impact for Maine’s fisheries.

The organization’s five core focus areas are coastal ecosystems, resilient coastal communities, safe and sustainable seafood, preparing for a changing climate, and environmental literacy and workforce development. Research topics vary from environmental sustainability and climate change impacts to lobstering culture — all scientific issues that impact Maine’s coastal working waterfront and communities.

“Maine Sea Grant is an important partner in supporting coastal communities, sustainable fisheries, and preserving our way of life,” the Maine Lobstermen’s Association said in a written statement Saturday. “While we appreciate the importance of cutting fraud and waste from government spending, eliminating vital programs like Maine Sea Grant could have a negative impact on both our economy and our environment.”

Maine Sea Grant also runs fellowships and research opportunities that explore marine policy, management practices, and professional development and educational opportunities, including efforts to recruit and bolster Maine’s coastal workforce.

Under the now-terminated agreement, the program would have received $1.5 million in 2025 and a total of just over $4.5 million through January 2028, Warren said.

In a termination letter that was provided to the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, NOAA official Timothy Carrington wrote that the activities of Maine Sea Grant are “no longer relevant to the Administration’s priorities and program objectives.”

Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, who leads the new Department of Government Efficiency, have focused on cutting government spending since the president took office at the end of January. Amid rounds of mass layoffs across the federal workforce, hundreds of employees — more than 800, or about 5% of total staff, according to reports — were fired from NOAA’s National Weather Service division on Thursday.

The administration has not publicly announced intentions to target specific NOAA fisheries work such as Maine Sea Grant, though legislation introduced earlier this month indicates that DOGE intends to “cut 50% of the NOAA workforce and 30% of the NOAA budget on coastal resilience.”

NOAA and the UMaine System formally notified Maine Sea Grant employees that the grant had been rescinded and their work was at risk Saturday. Many employees were gathered at the annual Maine Fishermen’s Forum in Rockport when they got the news.

Maine Sea Grant, founded in 1971, is a federal-state partnership program. Half of its budget is funded by NOAA, and the other half is funded by local entities, including UMaine and the state government.

It was unclear Saturday whether NOAA’s 33 other Sea Grant programs across the U.S. will see similar cuts.

Warren said the UMaine System has already had federal grants for different programs halted or entirely terminated by the Trump administration, but that this is the first order rescinding funding for an entire organization’s operations.

Maine Sea Grant and the University of Maine System declined to comment further while they assess the impacts of the termination.

NOAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday afternoon.

This story will be updated.