Our Work

Ocean Planning

News & Stories

Current Initiatives

Featured Resources

Fishing trawler being chased by seagulls as it heads to port from Block Island Sound.

Aerial view of Naval Station Newport circa 2010 by Elizabeth M Baker

About

Rhode Island’s ocean waters support fisheries, renewable energy, maritime commerce, recreation, cultural resources, wildlife, and coastal communities. As demands on these shared spaces grow, thoughtful planning is needed to understand potential conflicts, identify opportunities, and protect marine ecosystems.

Rhode Island Sea Grant brings together communities, industry, government agencies, researchers, and ocean users to share knowledge and inform decisions about using and managing coastal and offshore waters.

Mission

To bring people, science, and policy together to guide the sustainable use and management of shared ocean spaces.

Focus Areas

Collaborative Planning

Bringing communities, government agencies, industry, researchers, and ocean users together to inform decisions about shared ocean spaces.

Multiple Ocean Uses

Supporting planning that considers fisheries, energy, maritime commerce, recreation, cultural resources, national defense, conservation, and marine ecosystems.

Knowledge and Capacity Building

Connecting practitioners and communities with objective information, applied research, technical expertise, training, and opportunities for peer learning.

Offshore Energy Development May Create Hidden Hazards

Moving seafloor boulders for subsea cables creates challenges for commercial fishersFor generations, commercial fishermen have avoided the naturally occurring boulder fields that cover parts of the seafloor off Rhode Island and Southern New England. Today, as offshore...

A Community Walk Through Warren’s Resilience Efforts

A guided walk through Warren highlighted projects addressing flooding and coastal resilience.

Rhode Island Sea Grant’s Abbey Greene part of Award-Winning Offshore Wind Energy Outreach Team

Offshore wind energy is developing rapidly in the Northeast, and the Northeast Sea Grant programs have worked together to respond to public, private sector, and community needs and concerns as the region prepares for the implementation of hundreds of offshore wind...

Making Connections: Community Questions About Offshore Wind Cables

The prospect of an offshore wind cable running from a wind farm in federal waters up the Sakonnet and connecting to the grid through the town of Portsmouth has raised community questions and concerns over the impacts from cable installation on fish and the surrounding...

Offshore renewable energy improves habitat, increases fish

Offshore turbines and other renewable energy structures can have beneficial impacts on seafloor habitats and fish communities, said researchers from Belgium and the U.K. at a recent webinar on lessons learned from offshore renewable energy. The European scientists,...

Lessons from U.S.’s First Offshore Wind Farm

Planners, members of the fishing industry, and developers share what went well with Block Island Wind Farm—and what could have gone better—to aid future development Wind farm photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons by Ionna22 Planning for the nation’s first...

Current Initiatives

National Sea Grant Energy Liaison Initiative

Rhode Island Sea Grant leads a national initiative that helps Sea Grant programs and their partners understand and participate in evolving coastal energy discussions. The initiative connects communities, ocean users, researchers, industry, and decision-makers with objective information, applied research, technical expertise, and opportunities for knowledge exchange.

Explore Sea Grant Energy

Newport County Energy Community of Practice

A Rhode Island Sea Grant initiative connecting Newport County leaders and regional partners through field trips and shared learning focused on energy, the regional grid, and the blue economy.

Featured Resources

Fisheries & Benthic Monitoring TechSurge

The 2025 Ronald C. Baird Sea Grant Science Symposium brought together more than 150 researchers, industry leaders, practitioners, and other experts to explore marine technologies and ocean-observation tools supporting offshore monitoring and decision-making.

Hosted in partnership with the Marine Technology Society and the University of Rhode Island, the event demonstrated how collaboration across disciplines and sectors can strengthen the impact of marine science and technology.

For Shore Podcast Series

For Shore Podcast

For Shore is a seven-episode series featuring fishermen, scientists, community leaders, and resource managers discussing ocean health, renewable energy, research, and the experiences of people affected by decisions about shared ocean spaces.

Our Impact

Rhode Island Sea Grant and the URI Coastal Resources Center helped lead the research and stakeholder-engagement process that informed Rhode Island’s Ocean Special Area Management Plan. Completed in 2010, the plan brought together scientific research and knowledge from ocean users to guide the management of Rhode Island’s offshore waters and inform the siting of the Block Island Wind Farm.

The Ocean SAMP became a nationally recognized model for collaborative, science-based ocean planning.