Sea Grant Focus Areas

For more than 30 years, North Carolina Sea Grant has provided innovative research and outreach projects and programs that fulfill focus area goals highlighted in the National Sea Grant Strategic Plan.

Healthy Coastal Ecosystems

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  • Sound scientific information to support ecosystem-based approaches to managing the coastal environment.
  • Widespread use of ecosystem-based approaches to managing land, water and living resources in coastal areas.
  • Restored function and productivity of degraded ecosystems.

Sustainable Coastal Development

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  • Healthy coastal economies that include working waterfronts, an abundance of recreation and tourism opportunities, and coastal access for all citizens.
  • Coastal communities that make efficient use of land, energy and water resources and protect the resources needed to sustain coastal ecosystems and quality of life.
  • Coastal citizens, community leaders, and industries that recognize the complex interrelationships between social, economic and environmental values in coastal areas and work together to balance multiple uses and optimize environmental sustainability.

Safe and Sustainable Seafood Supply

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  • A sustainable supply of safe seafood to meet public demand.
  • A healthy domestic seafood industry that harvests, produces, processes, and markets seafood responsibly and efficiently.
  • Informed consumers who understand the importance of ecosystem health and sustainable harvesting practices to the future of our domestic fisheries, who appreciate the health benefits of seafood consumption, and who understand how to evaluate the safety of the seafood products they buy.

Hazard Resilience in Coastal Communities

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  • Widespread understanding of the risks associated with living, working, and doing business along the nation's coasts.
  • Community capacity to prepare for and respond to hazardous events.
  • Effective response to coastal catastrophes.

In addition, North Carolina Sea Grant and the national network work toward three cross-cutting goals:

  • Sound scientific information to advance understanding of the nature and cheap amoxicillinvalue of our coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes resources; to identify new ways to conserve and use these resources; and to support evaluation of the environmental impacts and socioeconomic trade-offs involved in coastal decision-making.

  • An informed public that understands the value and vulnerability of coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes resources, and demands informed science-based decisions about the conservation, use, and management of these resources, and a well-trained workforce that will make this a reality.

  • Decision-making processes that involve the full-range of coastal interests, that integrate efforts of public and private partners at the federal, regional, state, and local levels, and provide mechanisms for establishing common understandings and generating outcomes that balance multiple interests.


Photos: Mark Buckler, NC Wildlife Resources Commission, Paul Stephen