Founded in 1968, the University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program (Hawaiʻi Sea Grant) is part of a national network of 34 programs that promote better understanding, conservation, and use of coastal resources. Hawaiʻi Sea Grant works in partnership with the University of Hawaiʻi’s prestigious School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to identify Hawaiʻi’s critical resource management issues and guide cutting-edge scientific research to address these challenges.

Hawaiʻi Sea Grant supports an innovative program of research, extension, education, and communication services directed to the improved understanding and stewardship of coastal and marine resources. Realizing the necessity of collaboration to address coastal resource issues, Hawaiʻi Sea Grant also provides links between academia, federal, state, and local government agencies, industries, and local community members.

Hawaiʻi Sea Grant has four focus areas which explore pressing issues related to the health and well-being of our coasts and coastal economies:

• Healthy Coastal Ecosystems
• Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture
• Resilient Communities and Economies
• Environmental Literacy and Workforce Development

Together with partnering faculty and institutions throughout the university, Hawaiʻi Sea Grant developed a new model for Sea Grant that is based fundamentally on enhanced collaboration – the center of excellence model. Sea Grant’s traditional excellence in marine and coastal extension, research, and education now brings the capabilities of the broader university community to the people of Hawaiʻi.

Currently, Hawaiʻi Sea Grant has six centers of excellence:
• Smart Building and Community Design
• Sustainable Coastal Tourism
• Marine Science Education
• Coastal and Climate Science and Resilience
• Ulana ʻIke
• Pacific Region Aquaculture and Coastal Resource Hub

The University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program supports an innovative program of research, education, and extension services, directed to the improved understanding and stewardship of coastal and marine resources of the state, region, and nation.