WASHINGTON – The University of Maine will receive $987,500 in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce to serve the University’s Sea Grant mission, according to U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins.

The grant, offered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, will support research on the marine environment including aquaculture and the health and vitality of the Gulf of Maine fisheries, and also will support coastal communities.

“With our state’s 3,800-mile coastline, improving the knowledge of the oceans is an essential way to increase understanding and improvement of one of our most valued resources,” the senators said in a joint statement.

The Sea Grant Program is a partnership between the nation’s universities and NOAA that began in 1966 when Congress passed the National Sea Grant College Program. The program encourages the wise stewardship of marine resources through research, education, outreach, and technology transfer. It produces and makes available a wealth of information on marine topics from public school curriculum materials to the most advanced scientific research.