The Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium (MASGC) aims to provide integrated university-based research, communication, education, extension and legal programs to coastal communities leading to the responsible use of ocean and coastal resources through informed personal, policy and management decisions. MASGC, created in 1972, is a state-federal partnership and one of 33 Sea Grant college programs. Consortium members include these research institutions: Auburn University, Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Jackson State University, Mississippi State University, The University of Alabama, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, The University of Mississippi, The University of Southern Mississippi and the University of South Alabama. MASGC’s main office is located at The University of Southern Mississippi’s Gulf Coast Research Lab in Ocean Springs, Mississippi.