Korea has adopted the Sea Grant concept as a way to link their university and government marine science programs more effectively. On Monday, August 23, 2004, Korea Sea Grant Director Gyu-Hyun Park, Deputy Director Su-Ho Le, and scientists from three Korean Universities came to visit the NOAA National Sea Grant Office (NSGO) to learn more about the outreach/extension program. Their trip also included visits to the South Carolina and the California Sea Grant programs.

While Sea Grant is prominent in the U.S., it is and has been expanding internationally as well. Currently, programs based on the Sea Grant model are in various stages of development in Latin America and Asia. The U.S. Sea Grant Program has directly or indirectly supported the Latin America and Caribbean Sea Grant initiatives since 1984, most recently in Honduras and Nicaragua. The Korea Sea Grant program began in 2000, the first in Asia, followed shortly after that by Indonesia. And, many of the state Sea Grant Programs are involved with NOAA bilateral agreements in aquaculture and coastal modeling in Japan and China.

Top | Story Archive