This is an exciting time for the Center for Marine and Environmental Studies (CMES) at the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) as seventeen students will receive a Master of Marine and Environmental Science (MMES) degree on Thursday, May 17, 2018. (Cover photo: Colin Howe)

The 2015 Masters of Marine & Environmental Studies cohort at the University of the Virgin Islands has received notice that their video “Spread the word, not Halophila” is one of only ten submissions to make it to the final round of the Ocean 180 Video Challenge.

Dr. Tyler Smith, lead Coral Reef Researcher with VI-EPSCoR, and Associate Research Professor of Marine Science with the University of the Virgin Islands has been appointed to a National Academies of Sciences committee to study coral reef resilience. This is a tremendous honor of international significance. 

The Grammanik Bank, located just south of St. Thomas, is also the only known spawning location in the region for critically endangered Nassau grouper. The Nassau grouper spawning aggregation at the Grammanik Bank is a very special place. The US Virgin Islands are very fortunate because this is the only location in the entire Caribbean where Nassau grouper have shown signs of recovering