The Case for Sea Grant

By Samantha Muka

For 60 years, a federal program has built a network of vital basic research.

America250 Policy Nature Conservation Oceanography

This Article From Issue

July-August 2026

Volume 114, Number 4

Page 208

DOI: 10.1511/2026.114.4.208

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In 1984, U.S. President Ronald Reagan sought for the fourth time to eliminate a federal program supporting coastal, marine, and Great Lakes communities: the National Sea Grant College Program (hereafter called “Sea Grant”) administered by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The plan to defund this network of university-based research, education, and training projects was one of several moves by the conservative administration meant to reduce the size and influence of the federal government and its programs, often disregarding whether or not those programs were successful.

The National Sea Grant College Program (Sea Grant) helps fishermen (*top left*) and boosts coastal trades and tourism. The program has helped develop ways to monitor harmful algal blooms such as red tides (*top right*), and has built early warning tools for fisheries and public health authorities. Sea Grant research has also improved oil spill cleanup (*bottom left*), hatchery practices, disease management, and sustainable farming and harvesting (*bottom right*).

**Fred Greaves; Edwina Pickles/*The Sydney Morning Herald*/Fairfax Media/Getty Images/U. S. Coast Guard; NOAA Fisheries**

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