NEW ORLEANS - The five states that border the Gulf of Mexico are getting $113 million to improve the environment.

The grants, announced Thursday by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, are the first small chunk of $2.5 billion that BP PLC and Transocean Ltd. were fined as a result of criminal pleas last year following the 2010 Gulf oil spill.

Louisiana is getting $67.9 million, Florida $15.7 million, Alabama $12.6 million, Texas $8.2 million and Mississippi $8.2 million.

The money in Louisiana will go for planning and engineering to restore coastal islands and divert Mississippi River water and sediment into vanishing marshlands, part of the state's fight to stop its coastline's erosion.

Money in other states will generally go to improve natural areas and create better habitats for animals.