# Scottish Association for Marine Science

The Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) is a marine science research centre located on the Dunstaffnage peninsula, beside Dunstaffnage Castle and near Oban, Argyll, on the Scottish west coast. Research foci include polar research in the Arctic and Antarctic, climate change, marine biological research, as well as biotechnology and other areas related to blue economy. SAMS is considered one of the oldest oceanographic organisations in the world and is Scotland's largest and oldest independent marine science organisation.

## History

The Association was founded in 1884 by Sir John Murray following the Challenger expedition. The Scottish Marine Station, as it was then known, was established in Granton, outside Edinburgh and was the first marine research station in Scotland. It grew quickly and over the next 10 years began a gradual transfer of activities to Millport on the Isle of Cumbrae on the west coast. In 1894, a local committee undertook fundraising in order to construct a building onshore. This station, situated near Keppel Pier, was completed in 1897. In 1901 the committee transformed itself into the Marine Biological Association of the West of Scotland by adopting a formal constitution. In 1914 the association was incorporated as a not-for-profit company and renamed the Scottish Marine Biological Association.
After 80 years of investigations of the Firth of Clyde area and an island location, the Association relocated to the mainland in 1967 and built new facilities near Oban where it has easy access to a variety of oceanographic environments. In 1992 the Association was renamed to its current name, the Scottish Association for Marine Science.
The research laboratories at Dunstaffnage were rebuilt and re-equipped in 2004 and new teaching facilities were provided in 2010. The Ocean Explorer Centre, at Dunbeg, allows visitors to learn about the marine environment and the academic research going on at SAMS.
In 2014 the Ocean Explorer Centre was opened by Michael Russell MSP, then Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, to serve as a visitor and outreach facility for SAMS.

## Research

SAMS science has three main areas of focus:
* Discovery of the physical, chemical, geological and biological processes that drive the marine system
* Describing and quantifying how the coastal environment responds to human-made pressures such as climate change, habitat destruction, pollution and resource overexploitation and to work with society on developing and testing mitigation and adaptation measures
* Developing a sustainable blue economy to promote the use of the marine environment without degrading its health and productivity
SAMS works with staff from different disciplines, including physicists, mathematicians, biologists, geologists, chemists, social scientists, computer scientists, technologists, engineers, and communicators.
In addition to marine research, in the fields of marine processes and climate change, renewable energy, the Arctic, marine prosperity and sustainability, and mining impacts, the institute has a commercial branch and an education department.

## Business

SAMS Research Services Ltd (SRSL), set up in 2002, is the wholly owned trading subsidiary of SAMS and is also based at the Scottish Marine Institute, Dunstaffange. The subsidiary delivers specialist marine consultancy and survey services to industries, including aquaculture, renewable energy, marine mining, oil and gas (decommissioning), seafood security, and marine biotechnology. The company also manufactures devices for autonomous snow and ice measurement used in polar environments.

## Facilities
### Robotics facility

The association's robotics facility uses flying and diving robots to work on academic, regulatory and commercial projects, such as aerial mapping, surface fluxes and the properties of deep water.

### Culture Collection of Algae and Protozoa

The CCAP is the largest collection of algae and protists in Europe. It supports SAMS' research, currently with a focus on algal diseases.

## Education

SAMS offers undergraduate and postgraduate studies, including:
* Marine Science BSc (Hons)
* Marine Science with Arctic Studies BSc
* Marine Science with Oceanography & Marine Robotics BSc
* Aquaculture, Environment and Society (ACES) Joint Masters (Erasmus Mundus)
* Algal Biotechnology, Biology and Ecology MRes
* PhD studentships

## Academic partners

SAMS is an academic partner of the University of the Highlands and Islands. It is also a member of the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland (MASTS).
Deputy Director Professor Mark Inall was the director of the Scottish Alliance for Geoscience, Environment and Society (SAGES) until 2023; in 2024, he was appointed as Chief Scientific Adviser of the Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate.