A bipartisan Senate resolution expressing support for the National Sea Grant College by Senators Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, says the program is of vital importance to the economy and health of the nation.
The resolution, with 24 co-sponsors, was introduced on April 11. It challenges President Trump’s proposed budget, which would eliminate funding for the Sea Grant program.
The resolution expresses the sense of the Senate that the National Sea Grant College program “is a valuable program that protects and enhances the coastal communities and economy of the United States.
Sea Grant programs in 31 states and two territories to create or sustain more than 20,000 jobs and 2,900 businesses annually, and in 2015 had an economic impact of $575 million from an investment of $6,300,000.
The program, established in 1966, serves 31 states and two territories, with the goal of strengthening the health and stewardship of local, state and national coastal and marine resources.
In 2015 along, the program had an economic impact of $575,000,000 from a federal investment of $67,300,000, an 854 percent return on investment, and the program has created or sustained over 20,000 jobs and 2,900 businesses annually, the resolution said.
“Sea Grant plays a vital role in Alaska and throughout our coastal communities, with the programs provided combining essential aspects of applied research, communication, extension and education,” Murkowski said.
“For more than four decades, the National Sea Grant programs have aided in spreading economic sustainability and environmental conservation of our nation’s bountiful marine resources. Last year alone, Alaska Sea Grant programs accomplished great things, from pioneering health research through a study documenting fisherman health habits and chronic health challenges in the fishing industry to encouraging environmental literacy through our Alaska Seas and Watersheds school grants,” she said.
Merkley called the Sea Grant program “a textbook example of a smart and targeted investment in local communities that helps create economic growth.
Current Sea Grant projects in Alaska have addressed projects ranging from assessing the cost and benefits of whale watching in Juneau to incorporating environmental change in planning for health coastal ecosystems and economies, and parallel and divergent fishery management structures in state and federal waters.
More about Alaska Sea Grant is online at
www.seagrant.uaf.edu
