The Scottish Marine Institute is home to the Scottish Association for Marine Science, a multidisciplinary, independent oceanographic research institute founded in 1884. It is a founding partner of the University of Highlands and Islands. Our mission is to increase knowledge and stewardship of the marine environment, which we deliver through research, education and services to business. The Institute's research themes investigate marine renewable energy, Arctic seas, dynamic oceans, and people and the sea. Our research is delivered through four department (Ecology; Micro- and Molecular Biology; Physics, Technology and Sea Ice; and Earth Sciences). The Scottish Marine Institute carries out pure and applied marine research, runs degree courses in marine science, trains PhD students, maintains excellent facilities, and is actively engaged in knowledge transfer. It has c 450 members and employs around 150 staff. The Institute is located near Oban on the Scottish west coast. Infrastructure includes two research vessels, the Culture Collection of Algae and Protozoa, and the National Facility for Scientific Diving (including a recompression chamber). There are two commercial SAMS subsiduaries: SAMS Research Services Ltd runs our commercial activities, while the European Centre for Marine Biotechnology is an incubator facility for new biotechnology companies with an interest in marine organisms.