The Marine Extension Service works to increase the efficiency of existing marine industries, to identify new industries that do not harm the environment, and to increase public awareness and understanding of coastal ecosystems. The coordinated programs of research, advisory services and education carried out from offices in Athens and Atlanta and from facilities on Skidaway Island, Savannah and Brunswick extend economic and cultural benefits throughout the state and region.

Since its inception in 1970, the Marine Extension Service has worked to identify and address problems related to Georgia's coastal and marine resources, and to generate and disseminate information pertaining to coastal issues through its applied research and communications programs. The Marine Extension Service became part of the University of Georgia Marine Sciences Program in 1976, and part of the School of Marine Programs in 1991.

Programmatic Areas

Through its three programmatic areas - applied research, education, and outreach, the Marine Extension Service serves a diverse coastal constituency. It educates student and adult groups about Georgia's marine resources, and the importance of being good environmental stewards. It provides assistance to marine industries by finding ways to increase their efficiency and effectiveness, and encourages the development of new industries that do not degrade the environment. It identifies issues and problems that limit the coastal economy and addresses those it can. Those it cannot are directed to appropriate researcherson the main campus. In this sense, the Marine Extension Service provides a vital conduit between the University and Georgia's coastal community.

The Marine Advisory Service program is centered in Brunswick on a three-acre site with 300 feet of frontage on the Brunswick River. This facility includes classrooms, offices, a lecture hall, a seafood technology microbiology lab, a seafood technology chemistry lab, a seafood processing pilot plant, a seafood sanitation training facility, an electronics lab, a net loft, a recirculating seawater crab shedding facility, and a warehouse. The Marine Extension Service location in Peachtree City is an office for seafood technology and marketing.

The Marine Education and Aquarium (MECA) is located on Skidaway Island, outside Savannah, GA. The Center's facilities include classrooms, laboratories, a teaching aquarium, dormitory and cafeteria. The MECA also features Georgia's only public saltwater aquarium. Exhibits display organisms typical of the various habitats that are found along the coast: the tidal creeks of the salt marshes, the ocean beaches, and the open waters of the continental shelf including rocky, "live bottom" reefs. Fourteen exhibit tanks hold 200 live animals that represent approximately 50 species of fish and invertebrates found along the Georgia coast. Museum display cases on the upper level exhibit fossils dredged from the Skidaway River, and Native American artifacts dating back to the "Guale" era of Georgia's prehistory. This area is also used as an exhibit area to display photographs and paintings by local artists.

The Shellfish Research and Aquaculture Laboratory (SRAL) was established in 1984 on Skidaway Island, Savannah, GA, and is comprised of an 84-m2 analytical laboratory; a 158-m2 experimental area housing both raceway and circular tanks; four temperature-controlled chambers; and a complete histology laboratory. A seawater system pumps water from the adjacent Skidaway River to the laboratory, where it is filtered and heated or cooled as required. Other facilities include a 170-m2 greenhouse designed to meet the stringent requirements for the mass culture of shellfish seed and algal species. In addition, a number of small vessels are available for estuarine research projects.

The Shellfish Research and Aquaculture Laboratory performs applied research and extension support to develop and sustain both natural and aquacultural fisheries in coastal Georgia. Marine Advisory Services provides extension services and research in the following areas: Commercial Offshore Fisheries, Commercial Inshore Fisheries, Seafood Safety and Technology, Ecosystem Stewardship, and Recreational Fisheries.

The Marine Education Center and Aquarium (MECA) is the educational branch of the UGA Marine Extension Service. MECA's mission is to serve as a resource for students, teachers, and the general public of the state in matters related to Georgia's coastal marine environments. The Center provides both formal and informal educational programs focusing on the ecology of Georgia's estuaries, coastal islands, and offshore waters to audiences ranging from kindergarten to graduate level and Elderhostel groups.

Marine Extension Advisory Staff

Marine Education Center and Aquarium Staff

Marine Extension units