SGA DOCUMENTS
Transition 2001:
"science serving america's coasts"

    • articles of incorporation
    • sga bylaws
    • science serving america's coasts
    • a vision for success
    • sga awards
    • theme-centered research
    • funding principles
    • position papers

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January 2001

The Case for Sea Grant Growth

The issues to be addressed in coastal, marine, and Great Lakes resource management are immense and the investment in Sea Grant has not been commensurate with the demands for science-based information created by increased growth in coastal population and development. Yet the NRC review pointed out that Sea Grant has been virtually the only source of funding in the U.S. for marine policy research and a major contributor to the fields of marine aquaculture, coastal and estuarine research, marine fisheries management, seafood safety, marine biotechnology, marine engineering and coastal technology development, and this list is not exhaustive.

Several independent studies have concluded that Sea Grant has not realized its potential because of underfunding. As far back as 1981, the Heritage Foundation evaluated the Department of Commerce and concluded:

Sea Grant has an impressive record of success, primarily because it is based largely on local priorities and needs ... Sea Grant funding should be increased 10 percent per year in real terms for the next five years.

In its 1994 review of the National Sea Grant College Program, the NRC was emphatic in stating:

A steady increase in funding is necessary if the program’s potential contributions to the Nation’s economic and environmental health are to be realized.

The general case for growth is compelling, but despite an unprecedented high demand for coastal and ocean science and information and Sea Grant’s unique ability to provide solutions to coastal problems, funding has not kept pace with demand for services. Sea Grant is built on the Land Grant model, its highly successful counterpart. Although 54% of the U. S. population lives on the coast, funding for Sea Grant is only 3% of equivalent federal funding for university Land Grant programs. Sea Grant’s enabling legislation envisioned other federal agencies accessing university expertise through the Sea Grant administrative structure, but Sea Grant’s “pass-through” capabilities have been underutilized by other agencies. Funding limitations have contributed significantly to the difficulty of creating strong interagency partnerships.

Most decisions that affect the coastal environment are made locally, and, through Sea Grant, the Federal government has the ability to partner with state and local constituencies to address national problems at state and local levels. Moreover, many coastal issues cross state jurisdictions and need to be addressed regionally. In addition to its state-based infrastructure, Sea Grant has developed a system of regional networks that allows for organizing multi-state responses to regional/ecosystem-level problems.

Sea Grant is at heart a science-based program that engages the university community through partnership in providing consistently high-quality and relevant research, ranging from highly focused projects that develop innovative solutions for immediate and pressing needs to more forward-looking activities that anticipate the needs of society five to ten years down the road. Over the past few years, the review process has been streamlined and improved to increase the ability of Sea Grant to support research projects most critical to mission objectives. However, each of our state and national competitions continues to receive many times more highly rated projects than could possibly be supported. For example, the recent fisheries habitat research competition received requests for almost 20 times the available funds, and the requests for the aquaculture competition were about 50 times the available funds. Clearly the capacity is there for Sea Grant to provide much more useful science-based information than current funding levels allow.

Finally, as science becomes increasingly more complex, professional outreach staff are needed more than ever to synthesize and promulgate needed information. With its established extension network, Sea Grant is uniquely positioned to be the two-way conduit between the providers and users of information. Indeed, Sea Grant’s greatest asset may be the trust that has been developed and nurtured through 34 years as an “honest broker.” Sea Grant’s science is believed and its outreach staff are trusted because it is university-based, neutral, and objective. Yet, a recent national review of the Sea Grant Extension Program concluded that its current work force of 300 extension specialists “is insufficient to address adequately the issues raised along the extensive reach of the nation's coastlines.”

In short, Sea Grant offers numerous economic opportunities, problem-solving processes and programmatic efficiencies for the federal government to achieve its marine and coastal science agenda. Based on Sea Grant’s remarkable capabilities, strategic and intellectual assets, and core processes, significant new investment in Sea Grant is justified and required.

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