University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program

What University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program does

The University of Hawai'i Sea Grant College Program is a federally designated research, education, and extension program within the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. Founded in 1968 as one of 34 NOAA Sea Grant College Programs, the organization conducts integrated research, education, and extension services directed toward coastal and marine resource stewardship across Hawai'i and the broader Pacific region (American Samoa, Guam, Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands). Its product portfolio combines decision-support web tools (Hawai'i Cesspool Prioritization Tool covering 83,000+ cesspools with 15 data layers, and the Act 217 Sewer Expansion Overlay Tool identifying 103 Potential Project Areas), media products (Ka Pili Kai biannual magazine, Voice of the Sea television series with 13+ seasons, 3-2-1 podcasts, story maps), educational programs (Graduate Fellowships, Hawai'i Ocean Sciences Bowl, Hanauma Talks seminars), and six Centers of Excellence spanning indigenous knowledge integration, marine science education, smart building design, sustainable coastal tourism, aquaculture, and coastal community health. Underlying technical capabilities include geospatial analysis, microbial genomics for wastewater contamination detection, DNA metabarcoding for fish diet analysis, numerical groundwater modeling, and coral restoration techniques.

The program operates on a non-commercial revenue model funded primarily through NOAA National Sea Grant College Program appropriations, state of Hawai'i appropriations, and competitive federal/state grants. Publications, extension services, and educational programs are provided at no cost to beneficiaries. It does not operate a unified software platform; rather, it functions as a portfolio of research programs, web tools, educational resources, and public media products distributed through institutional partnerships (UH SOEST, NOAA, The Nature Conservancy, State Division of Aquatic Resources, Bishop Museum, UHERO, WRRC, Ocean Exploration Trust) and multi-channel content distribution (TV broadcast across six Pacific jurisdictions, YouTube, blog, newsletter, podcasts). The customer base comprises state and federal government agencies (NOAA, Hawai'i DOH, DLNR), educational institutions (K-12 through graduate), coastal communities, and marine researchers, all served as mission-driven recipients rather than paying customers. The program reported a 232% return on leveraged funds for 2025 activities and is positioned for sustained relevance through Hawai'i's Act 125 mandate requiring all 83,000+ cesspools to be converted by 2050.

Name

University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program

Legal name

University of Hawai'i Sea Grant College Program

Website

https://seagrant.soest.hawaii.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1968

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The University of Hawai'i Sea Grant College Program is a NOAA-designated research, education, and extension program within UH Mānoa that conducts coastal and marine resource stewardship work across Hawai'i and the Pacific Islands, serving government agencies, educational institutions, and coastal communities since 1968.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Coastal and Marine Research & Extension Services

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Educational Support Services (611710), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Coastal & Marine Resources Administration (Oceans, Fisheries, Shorelines) (BPAIAMAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Research Universities with Major Extension & Outreach Missions (EDAHAAAG), Marine & Freshwater Conservation (BPAGAGAE), Grantmaking Agencies & Education Program Grants Administration (EDADAHAD)

Keywords

• Marine research services
• Coastal management
• Extension education
• Ocean stewardship
• Watershed monitoring

Headquarters

HQ city

Honolulu

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Federal and State Government Funding: As a Sea Grant College Program, the organization is primarily funded through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under the federal Sea Grant program and state appropriations. This funds research projects, extension services, and educational programs.
2. Publications and Resources Distribution: Free biannual magazine Ka Pili Kai and other publications distributed to subscribers. Electronic newsletter Oē o ke Kai provided at no cost. Revenue model is not commercial but serves educational mission.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program provides research, education, and extension services focused on the stewardship and sustainable use of coastal and marine resources in Hawaii and the Pacific. Its offerings include applied research projects, the Hawaii Cesspool Prioritization Tool and Act 217 overlay tool for state and county planning, education and workforce programs, the Hanauma Bay Education Center, the Ka Pili Kai magazine, and the Voice of the Sea television program.

Product overview

University of Hawai'i Sea Grant College Program is a research, education, and extension service organization (not a software product company) that engages in programs directed toward coastal and marine resource stewardship. Its portfolio includes web-based decision support tools (Hawai'i Cesspool Prioritization Tool and Act 217 Sewer Expansion Overlay Tool), media products (Ka Pili Kai Magazine, Voice of the Sea television series, 3-2-1 Podcasts, Story Maps), educational initiatives (Hanauma Bay Education Program, Graduate Fellowship Program, Hawai'i Ocean Sciences Bowl, Pauley Seminars in Sustainability), and six Centers of Excellence covering marine science education, smart community design, sustainable coastal tourism, aquaculture, indigenous knowledge integration, and coastal community health. The organization does not operate as a unified software platform but rather as a collection of complementary research programs, educational resources, and public-facing web tools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ka Pili Kai Magazine: Hawai'i Sea Grant's free biannual magazine celebrating people and places across the Pacific region through vivid photographs and inspiring stories related to marine and coastal topics.
• Voice of the Sea
• Oē o ke Kai
• Hawai'i Cesspool Prioritization Tool

Products and services

• Hawaii Cesspool Prioritization Tool (HCPT) A geospatial decision-support tool that prioritizes the upgrade or conversion of cesspools in Hawaii based on their public health and environmental impact, used by state and county agencies to allocate wastewater infrastructure investment.
• Act 217 Shoreline Setback Overlay Tool A GIS overlay analysis tool that helps planners and regulators visualize and apply Hawaii's Act 217 shoreline setback requirements to coastal properties and projects.
• Hanauma Bay Education Center A visitor education and outreach operation at Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve that delivers mandatory pre-visit briefings and interpretive programs on reef ecology, marine life, and conservation for residents and tourists.
• Voice of the Sea Television Program A long-running local television series that profiles Hawaii-based marine and coastal research, extension, and community stories for a general public audience.
• Ka Pili Kai Magazine A Hawaii-focused magazine that communicates coastal and marine science, extension, and stewardship stories to a general public and classroom audience.

Quantifiable outcome

• 232% return on investment through leveraged funds
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNOAA administers the federal Sea Grant program of which Hawai'i Sea Grant is a part. The partnership provides core funding and national coordination for coastal and marine research, education, and extension services across the United States.
• The Nature Conservancy of Hawai'imajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on research projects including kalo farming and water quality improvement at Kako'o 'Ōiwi in Kāne'ohe. Joint efforts in coastal resilience and environmental conservation across Hawai'i.
• Water Resources Research Center (WRRC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership for water resources research, particularly related to groundwater quality and coastal contamination from cesspools and agricultural runoff.
• State of Hawai'i Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerState agency partnership for coral restoration nursery at the Anuenue Fisheries Research Center on Sand Island. Joint research on fisheries management and marine ecosystem restoration.
• University of Hawai'i School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHawai'i Sea Grant is housed within SOEST at UH Mānoa, providing institutional infrastructure, faculty, research facilities, and academic programs in oceanography, marine biology, and earth sciences.
• Bishop MuseumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for algae and plant specimen collections and research. Bishop Museum serves as the official Herbarium of Hawai'i and houses marine plant and algae specimens.
• Hawai'i Undersea Research Laboratory (HURL)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnership providing access to submersibles and remotely operated vehicles for deep sea research and mesophotic reef exploration.
• Maui Forest Bird Recovery ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on forest conservation and endangered bird recovery projects including the kiwikiu (Maui parrotbill) restoration efforts in upper Maui forests.
• Ocean Exploration TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for ocean exploration content featuring the research vessel Nautilus and participation in deep sea expeditions and educational outreach.
• UH Economic Research Organization (UHERO)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership for economic research related to coastal resources, water quality valuation, and environmental economics in Hawai'i.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Nature Conservancy Hawai'i: TNC Hawai'i is a strategic partner of Hawaii Sea Grant and a comparable environmental stewardship organization working on coastal resilience, watershed management, and conservation in the same Pacific geography. Operates as a sibling environmental NGO with overlapping research and outreach mission.
• Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS): PacIOOS is a NOAA-funded regional ocean observing system housed at UH Mānoa alongside Hawaii Sea Grant. Shares the Pacific Islands geographic focus, university housing, and applied ocean data infrastructure mission, with overlapping stakeholder base across Hawaiian and U.S. Pacific territories.
• Florida Sea Grant College Program: Florida Sea Grant is the most direct peer as a fellow NOAA Sea Grant College Program with similar integrated research, education, and extension mandate. Operates similar coastal resource management and water quality extension programs, although at larger scale in the continental U.S.
• Oregon Sea Grant: Oregon Sea Grant at Oregon State University is a fellow NOAA-designated Sea Grant program. Operates the same federal-state partnership model and shares extension services, K-12 marine education, and coastal community resilience focus with Hawaii Sea Grant.
• Texas Sea Grant College Program: Texas Sea Grant is a sibling NOAA Sea Grant College Program at Texas A&M with comparable research, education, and extension services. Shares the federal funding model, university housing, and coastal resource management mission with Hawaii Sea Grant.

Broad incumbents

• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: WHOI is the largest private non-profit oceanographic research institution in the U.S. and a major federally-funded marine research center. While private and much larger, it serves as a comparable applied marine science and education institution with similar research/education/extension tri-pillar model.
• Scripps Institution of Oceanography: Scripps is one of the oldest and largest centers for marine research, embedded in UC San Diego. It shares with Hawaii Sea Grant the combination of university-based marine research, education, and public engagement, though at significantly larger scale.
• National Marine Sanctuary Foundation: NMSF is the primary non-profit partner supporting NOAA's National Marine Sanctuary System. Compares to Hawaii Sea Grant through shared coastal conservation mission, public education programming, and grantmaking role (Hawaii Sea Grant has Active partnership with NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries).

Emerging players

• Ocean Exploration Trust: Ocean Exploration Trust operates the E/V Nautilus and is a formal partner of Hawaii Sea Grant. The two organizations share deep-sea research and ocean science communication missions, though Ocean Exploration Trust is a private non-profit focused on exploration rather than a state extension program.
• Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute: MBARI is a private oceanographic research center focused on advanced marine technology and ocean exploration. Compares to Hawaii Sea Grant around deep-sea research capabilities (parallel to HURL partnership) and ocean science communication products.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/VoiceoftheSeaTV
• Facebookfacebook.com/voiceoftheseatv
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hawaii-sea-grant

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program