Established in 1966, NOAA’s National Sea Grant College Program promotes the wise stewardship of coastal resources in over 30 university programs in every U.S. coastal and Great Lakes state and Puerto Rico (click here for U.S. map with locations). The Sea Grant model has also inspired similar projects in the Pacific region, Korea and Indonesia.
New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a statewide network of integrated research, education, and extension services promoting the wise use and protection of marine and Great Lakes resources, is currently in its 39th year of "Bringing Science to the Shore."
NYSG is a cooperative program of the State University of New York (SUNY) and Cornell University, with administrative offices at Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, extension administration in Ithaca and extension staff in Riverhead, Stony Brook, New York City, Kingston, Oswego, Brockport and Buffalo.
The combined talents of university scientists and extension specialists help transfer science-based information to many coastal user groups--businesses and industries, federal, state and local government decision-makers and agency managers, educators, the media and the interested public.
New York needs Sea Grant. . . Our state, with 3,400 miles of widely varied coastline, is the only state in the nation bordering both the Great Lakes and the ocean. The Hudson, St. Lawrence and Niagara Rivers, Lakes Ontario, Erie and Champlain, Long Island Sound, inland bays, New York Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean provide the state with unique economic, environmental and social advantages. Today more than 85 percent of the state’s population of 18.2 million people lives in one of those coastal regions. New Yorkers depend on our coasts for ports and marinas, trade and recreation, and their contribution to economic and environmental sustainability.
Providing timely and relevant research and outreach New York Sea Grant currently supports approximately 40 important research and outreach projects. Our research addresses important issues such as shoreline protection, fisheries, aquatic invaders, water quality and other issues vital to the ecosystem and economic health of NY’s coasts. NYSG has been at the forefront of lobster, hard clam and brown tide research initiatives.
Our Track Record… Since its start in 1971, NYSG has provided nearly $120 million for research, education, and outreach projects; sponsored conferences, seminars and workshops on vital coastal issues; and made it possible for hundreds of graduate students to get advanced degrees through the Sea Grant Scholar Program.
