Research
Oregon Sea Grant is the conduit for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research and outreach grants, awarded competitively by the National Sea Grant College Program. Additional funding comes from the Oregon legislature and collaborative efforts with public and private sources.
Sea Grant provides competitive, peer-reviewed grants that allow top ocean and coastal researchers to apply their skills to issues of critical importance to the state, the region, and the nation. Over the years, the program’s funding emphasis has changed to meet and anticipate the region’s changing needs. Urgent issues—the decline of once-abundant fisheries, the challenges posed by coastal population growth and climate change, the heightened awareness of invasive species—help propel Sea Grant’s research priorities as the program strives to put limited resources where they can do the most good. Many research projects have outreach components, ensuring that the results of cutting-edge science will be put to work on the ground - and at sea.
Researchers come from the leading ranks of academic science in Oregon. In some cases, Oregon researchers partner with others from the Pacific Northwest and beyond to explore questions of broader regional, national, or international scope.
Current research
Economic Leadership:
- Aquaculture - Shipping marine ornamentals, oyster reproduction, salmon disease
- Biotechnology - Cultivating symbionts for marine research; how seaweeds cope with pollution
- Fisheries - Market-based environmental standards; river parasites and salmon mortality; training stakeholders in stock assessment
Coastal Ecosystem Health and Public Safety
- Ecosystems and Habitats - Invasive beach grass and Pacific dunes
- Coastal Hazards - Tsunami inundation models; dune and beach erosion; near-shore sand transport; community hazard preparedness
Education and Human Resources
- Marine Science Literacy - Sea Grant professorship in free-choice learning
Additional current projects
- New: Regional research and information plan for the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem of Coastal Washington, Oregon, and California
- National Strategic Investment projects
- Program development grants