Mote Marine Laboratory

Mote Marine Laboratory (MML) is an independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit research and educational organization dedicated to excellence in marine and environmental sciences. Since its inception in 1955, the Laboratory's mission has been the pursuit of excellence in scientific research and the dissemination of information to the scientific community as well as to the general public. Although internationally recognized through the scientific staff's research and publications, much of the Laboratory's efforts are directed toward the Southwest Florida coastal region. Subjects studied include: Aquatic Toxicology, Benthic Ecology, Chemical Ecology, Chemical Fate and Effects, Coastal Resources, Coral Reef Biology, Elasmobranch Behavioral Ecology, Elasmobranch Fisheries, Conservation, Physiology and Environmental Biology, Fisheries Enhancement and Aquaculture, Human and Ecological Health, Landscape Ecology, Marine Biomedical and Immunology Research, Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Conservation and Research, Microbiology, Phytoplankton Ecology, Sensory and Behavior Biology, Shark Biology. MML is one of the three organizations that compose the Gulf of Mexico Marine Stock Enhancement Program (GMMSEP. This program was created to plan, execute, review, and evaluate broad-based, scientific stock enhancement methods, designed to augment conventional restrictive fishery management methods in use by state and federal agencies in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

MML counts with a staff of 220 people and approximately 1400 volunteers. Its facilities cover 10.5 acres on City Island, Sarasota, and it has four field stations, all in Florida:

• Center for Tropical Research, Summerland Key
• Charlotte Harbor Field Station, Pineland
• Mote Aquaculture Park, Sarasota
• Mote Key West, Key West