Established in 1947 as the Institute of Fisheries Research, its name was changed in 1967 to better reflect the broad range of investigative projects being conducted by its faculty and visiting scientists. The Institute's mission is to serve the state and nation through the conduct of high quality basic and applied marine sciences research. Institute facilities are made available to other UNC faculty and students with marine-related research interests. The Institute is strategically located in North Carolina's central coastal region on 6.5 acres of waterfront property on Bogue Sound in Morehead City. A deep water port offers ready access to these embayments as well as the ecologically significant Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout areas.
Outdoor ponds provide seawater habitats for controlled experiments.
A separate dormitory offers short-term bunking accommodations for up to 24 students. A ground breaking ceremony marking the beginning of a multi-phase construction project was held on June 2, 1997. Fisheries Research Laboratory with a new running seawater system should be completed in Fall 1999. These enhancements will provide not only better facilities to accommodate the Institute's expanding research and training activities, but also shared, flexible space for collaborative studies with colleagues from the Chapel Hill campus and other institutions. Last updated March 2001.