Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium

The National Sea Grant College Program, administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is a federal/state partnership that matches NOAA Sea Grant expertise and resources with state academic institutions. The Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium (MASGC), created in 1972, is one of 33 Sea Grant programs. Consortium members include Auburn University, Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Jackson State University, Mississippi State University, The University of Alabama, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, The University of Mississippi, The University of Southern Mississippi and the University of South Alabama.

The mission of MASGC is to provide integrated university- and college-based research, communications, education, extension and legal programs to coastal communities that lead to the responsible use of ocean and coastal resources in Alabama and Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico through informed personal, policy and management decisions.

To fulfill this mission, MASGC commits to interdisciplinary environmental scholarship and community-based natural-resource management. The tools available in support of the MASGC mission are applied interdisciplinary research, outreach, education and legal services using both targeted and cross-cutting approaches. These tools are utilized at local, state, regional, national and international arenas.

The bi-state resources include nearly 3,200 square miles of inland water and 966 miles of estuarine shoreline, and support more than 7 million residents. MASGC operates through its strategic plan with guidance from a board of directors and advisory council.