News & Events

Recent recipients of the Dean & Director’s Innovation Fund, which invests in early-stage research with high potential for commercial outcomes, are revolutionizing environmental DNA sampling, developing "forever chemical” detection tools and pioneering sustainable aquaculture systems.

Former Secretary of State John F. Kerry visited William & Mary on October 15 as the inaugural Blue Horizons Fellow. The Blue Horizons Visiting Fellows Program brings leaders and innovators to the Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences & VIMS to help catalyze the Institute’s science for solutions.

William & Mary’s Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences & VIMS has awarded $1.8 million to 13 organizations throughout the U.S. focused on the removal of derelict fishing gear, which poses a significant threat to the sustainability of coastal and marine environments and the fishing industries from which they originate. This is the second year of subawards distributed through the National Fishing Trap Removal, Assessment, and Prevention (TRAP) Program.

Preliminary results from this year’s Juvenile Striped Bass Seine Survey suggest an average year class was produced in Virginia tributaries in 2025, with a recorded mean value of 5.12 fish per seine haul. The 2025 value represents an improvement over the previous two years of below-average recruitment.