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Sea Grant is a Federal-University partnership program that brings science together with communities for solutions that work.

The National Sea Grant College program was established by the U.S. Congress in 1966 and works to create and maintain a healthy coastal environment and economy. The Sea Grant network consists of a federal/university partnership between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and 33 university-based programs in every coastal and Great Lakes state, Puerto Rico, and Guam. The network draws on the expertise of more than 3,000 scientists, engineers, public outreach experts, educators and students to help citizens better understand, conserve and utilize America's coastal resources.

Sea Grant By the Numbers (pdf)

A Smart Coastal Investment (pdf)

Sea Grant Network

Sea Grant is a national network of 33 university-based programs, the National Sea Grant Law Center and the National Sea Grant Library.

National Sea Grant Law Center

National Sea Grant Library

Regional Initiatives

Sea Grant recognizes the value in identifying and prioritizing needs on a regional level as a cornerstone of sound ocean, coastal and Great Lakes ecosystem management. Sea Grant continues to solidify its regional partnerships with each of the eight NOAA regions, bringing together academic institutions, federal, state and local government agencies, and non‐governmental organizations to address regional issues.

Region	Regional Contact	Sea Grant Program	Address	Phone #
Alaska	Paula Cullenberg	Alaska Sea Grant	1007 W 3rd Avenue #100, Anchorage, AK 99501	907.274.9692
Caribbean	Ruperto Chaparro Serrano	University of Puerto Rico Sea Grant	PO Box 9011, Mayaguez, PR 00681	787.832.3585
Great Lakes	John Downing	Minnesota Sea Grant	31 West College Street, Room 132 Duluth, MN 55812	218.726.8106
Great Lakes	Chris Winslow	Ohio Sea Grant	1314 Kinnear Rd. Area 100, Columbus, OH 43212	614.292.8949
Gulf of Mexico	Stephen Sempier	Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium	703 East Beach Drive, Ocean Springs, MS 39564	228.818.8830
Insular Pacific	Darren Okimoto	University of Hawai`i Sea Grant	2525 Correa Road, HIG 238, Honolulu, HI 96822	808.956.7031
Mid-Atlantic	Peter Rowe	New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium	22 Magruder Road Fort Hancock, NJ 07732	732.872.1300
Northeast	Bill Wise	New York Sea Grant	125 Nassau Hall Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY 11794-5001	631.632.6905
South Atlantic	Christine Laporte	Georgia Coastal Research Council	Marine Sciences Bldg., University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602	706.542.1283
West Coast	Shelby Walker	Oregon Sea Grant	1600 SW Western Blvd, Suite 350, Corvallis, OR 97333	541.737.4440

Strategic Plan

Every four years, the National Sea Grant College Program taps into its vast network of scientists, engagement professionals, stakeholders, and federal partners to identify and address the needs of coastal communities around the country. A strategic plan is developed by representatives from the Sea Grant Network to produce high quality science and inform management of coastal resources in ways that balance human use with environmental health. The strategic planning process identifies core values and focus areas that drive efforts to address the priorities established by coastal communities.

2018 - 2021 National Strategic Plan - DRAFT (pdf)

2014-2017 National Strategic Plan (pdf)

Sea Grant Leadership

History

The idea of a Sea Grant College Program was originally suggested by oceanographer, inventor and writer, Dr. Athelstan Spilhaus at the 93rd meeting of the American Fisheries Society in 1963. Interest in the Sea Grant concept grew after the release of an editorial written by Spilhaus that appeared in a 1964 issue of Science: " I have suggested the establishment of ‘sea-grant colleges' in existing universities that wish to develop oceanic work...These would be modernized parallels of the great developments in agriculture and the mechanic arts which were occasioned by the Land-Grant Act of about a hundred years ago...Establishment of the land-grant colleges was one of the best investments this nation ever made. That same kind of imagination and foresight should be applied to exploitation of the sea."

In 1965, Senator Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island introduced legislation to establish Sea Grant colleges on campuses nationwide as centers of excellence in marine and coastal studies. With the adoption in 1966 of the National Sea Grant College Act, Congress established an academic/industry/government partnership that would advance the nation's education, economy, and environment into the 21st century.