Making the grade: Sea Grant's biennial report is available for viewing

New York, NY, January 22, 2013 - Here at nyseagrant.org, we cover a lot of the research, extension and education efforts that our program funds in both New York's Great Lakes and the marine waters - including The Hudson, St. Lawrence and Niagara Rivers, Lakes Ontario, Erie and Champlain, Long Island Sound, inland bays, New York Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean. But there is a wealth of important work being done by each of the 33 Sea Grant programs around the U.S., each of them protecting and preserving America's coastlines and water resources.

If you are interested in learning more about what each of the respective Sea Grant programs has accomplished towards that goal, the latest Sea Grant report, The State of Sea Grant 2012: Impacts,Challenges, Opportunities, is available online for review (pdf).

Submitted to Congress every two years by the National Sea Grant Advisory Board (NSGAB), the report features detailed information about each program's education, research, and outreach achievements, as well as short- and long-term goals for future action.

In addition to providing an update on the National Sea Grant College Program over the last two years, the report includes a background on Sea Grant, which was established by Congress in 1966 to bring practical scientific information from the nation’s universities to coastal businesses, citizens and all levels of government in order to capture the economic and social benefits of the nation’s oceans, coasts and Great Lakes in a sustainable way.

In its first four decades, Sea Grant has worked with thousands of public and private partners across the country to create and preserve coastal jobs, balance economic development and resource protection, and create an informed coastal citizenry. But, as NSGAB Chair Dr. Nancy N. Rabalais points out, "Level funding and declining purchasing power continue to limit what Sea Grant can do. The Advisory Board is concerned with this decline in resources and the resultant impact on state program funds and on the Program’s overall mission. Funding for the National Sea Grant College Program should grow with rising demands."

Increased support for Sea Grant could make considerable impact. As detailed in the report, in the last two years, Sea Grant programs across the country have created or retained a total of over 3,800 jobs and 630 businesses, trained 450 coastal communities on how to adopt or implement hazard resiliency practices, and supported nearly 1,950 undergraduate and graduate students to develop a diverse, highly qualified workforce. Additional measures and metrics for the National Sea Grant College program are provided on page 27 of the Report, which can be read here (pdf).

Also, feel free to visit each Sea Grant's Web pages for more in-depth information about the work they do protecting America's waterways - Click here for U.S. map with all Sea Grant locations.

Full Report:

The State of Sea Grant 2012: Impacts, Challenges and Opportunities (pdf)
Biennial Report to Congress by the National Sea Grant Advisory Board, October 2012

More Info:

New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York, is one of 33 university-based programs under the National Sea Grant College Program (NSGCP) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The NSGCP engages this network of the nation’s top universities in conducting scientific research, education, training and extension projects designed to foster science-based decisions about the use and conservation of our aquatic resources. Through its statewide network of integrated services, NYSG has been promoting coastal vitality, environmental sustainability, and citizen awareness about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources since 1971.

For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org has RSS, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube links. NYSG also offers a free e-list sign up via www.nyseagrant.org/coastlines for NY Coastlines, its flagship publication, and Currents, its e-newsletter supplement, each distributed 3-4 times a year.