International Funding for Freelance Journalists to Produce Reports on the Environment and Fisheries

The Pulitzer Center is accepting applications for its Ocean and Fisheries Reporting Grant, supporting freelance and staff journalists worldwide with ambitious reporting projects on ocean health and fisheries. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and applicants typically hear back one to two weeks after submitting their proposal.

About the Ocean and Fisheries Reporting Grant

This grant supports in-depth journalism that examines long-running problems affecting fisheries and the ocean, and helps audiences and stakeholders consider possible solutions. Suggested subjects include illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing; fisheries subsidies; overfishing; declining fish stocks; and the effects of these issues on small-scale fishers and the livelihoods of coastal communities. The initiative also welcomes solutions-oriented reporting and applications on climate impacts, pollution, and biodiversity loss.

Other areas of interest include climate change impacts beyond sea-level rise, deep-sea mining, marine energy generation, the blue economy, marine genetic resources and benefit sharing, and the creation, implementation, and management of Marine Protected Areas. Journalists may also propose stories on species and habitat loss, restoration and protection, ocean science, blue carbon and ecosystem value, marine geoengineering, shipping, polar issues, fishmeal production, aquaculture, and blue foods.

Transparency and governance are cross-cutting themes. The Center seeks projects that follow money across borders, investigate opaque or harmful supply chains, and examine the systems, organizations, and people that enable corruption. Proposals can use different reporting formats. The Center also encourages creative approaches to distribution and audience engagement beyond simply publishing a story. Collaborative reporting proposals from teams are welcome.

Applications should include a detailed distribution plan and letters of commitment from outlets where the stories will be published. The Center particularly welcomes proposals from the Global South and is seeking more reporting from Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific, east and southern Africa, the Middle East, and North Africa. Explore other reporting grants and funding opportunities or browse opportunities for young people.

The grant does not fund books as standalone products, feature-length films, staff salaries, equipment purchases, an outlet’s general expenses, start-up seed money, routine breaking news, advocacy or marketing campaigns, or data projects aimed solely at academic research. A story that may later become part of a book can be supported if it is independently published by a media outlet. Short documentaries may be supported when they have ambitious distribution plans. Equipment rentals are considered case by case, and data must enhance or support journalism.

Who Should Apply

The opportunity is for freelance and staff journalists from around the world who have a strong reporting proposal focused on ocean or fisheries issues. It is suited to reporters able to develop a detailed plan for reaching audiences and secure commitment letters from prospective publishing outlets. Applications from the Global South are particularly encouraged, as are collaborative projects by reporting teams.

Key Highlights

• Grant support for ambitious, in-depth ocean and fisheries journalism; the announcement does not state a grant amount.
• Open to freelance and staff journalists worldwide.
• Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, with no fixed closing date stated.
• Applicants typically receive a response one to two weeks after submission.
• Proposals need a project description, preliminary budget, distribution plan, and outlet commitment letters.