About Us
Coastal and marine resources are experiencing unprecedented
stresses. Increasing coastal populations, development pressure and
habitat loss, commercial fishing pressure, polluted runoff and invasive
species all threaten the 95,000 miles of U.S. coastline. Sea Grant
works to address these issues through research, education and outreach.
What is Sea Grant?
Sea Grant is a federal-university partnership whose
mission, as mandated by Congress, is to foster the sustainable development
of the nation’s coastal resources. Operating through a university-based
network, Sea Grant supports research, education and outreach to
help balance the conservation of coastal and marine resources with
a sustainable economy and environment. Sea Grant addresses a broad
range of issues including aquaculture, marine biotechnology, seafood
processing, the development of marine products, fisheries recruitment
and conservation, estuarine processes and marine policy.
In this framework, Sea Grant provides unique expertise
for those who live and work in our coastal environments, and those
who make decisions about these resources. Sea Grant uses research
results to solve real-world problems, prepares the next generation
to be scientifically literate about the marine environment, and
provides fair, accurate and balanced scientific information to all
those with a stake in marine management.
What is Sea Grant College
Status?
Sea Grant College status is the top tier of programs
within the National Sea Grant College Program. Designation as a
Sea Grant College is based on a demonstrated record of superior
performance in marine and coastal resource programs and signifies
that the Sea Grant program is addressing the needs of its state.
UNH as a Land, Sea and Space
Grant Institution
The University of New Hampshire was founded in 1866
as the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts.
One of the nation’s earliest land grant institutions, it was
endowed with public lands from the federal government to provide
practical courses relevant to the state’s rural population.
In 1914, Congress created the Cooperative Extension
Service, staffing each state’s counties with extension agents
who could “extend” campus research to people throughout
the state. In this way, land grant universities would serve not
only the needs of formal students, but also those of each state’s
citizens.
In 1966, responding to concerns about the nation’s marine
and coastal resources, Congress established the National Sea Grant
College Program. The term “Sea Grant” was chosen to
emphasize the parallel between this new program focusing on the
nation’s marine resources and the land grant program that
had been established a century earlier to develop agricultural resources.
Similarly, in 1989, another university-based program, the National
Space Grant and Fellowship Program, was formed within NASA, with
UNH designation following in 1991.
Just as land grant institutions continue to serve
the needs of their state citizens in agricultural and natural resources,
family development and youth education, Sea Grant colleges and universities
research new ideas and technologies to promote the understanding,
wise use and stewardship of coastal resources. At UNH, Sea Grant
supports a range of marine research efforts and then works with
Cooperative Extension to disseminate the results of that research
to those who can benefit from it.
Today there are 30 Sea Grant programs based at colleges
and universities in every coastal and Great Lakes state, as well
as in Puerto Rico. Each program receives federal funding from the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the Department
of Commerce. In addition, every federal dollar invested in Sea Grant
must be matched by at least 50 cents from non-federal sources. This
mandate ensures that each Sea Grant program focuses a major portion
of its efforts on addressing the needs of its state and region.
New Hampshire Sea Grant
Over the past 30 years, New Hampshire Sea Grant
has worked to fulfill the Sea Grant mission in its state and region.
For most of that period, it was a component of the Maine/NH Sea
Grant College Program, an entity that combined the resources of
the major universities of both states to address marine problems,
issues and opportunities.
In October 2000, Maine/NH Sea Grant separated, creating
two fully distinct programs. Growth in the marine research communities
and funding at both universities allowed for this development. The
newly independent NH Sea Grant has been able to focus its efforts
on the unique needs and opportunities found within the Granite State.
|
