Virginia Institute of Marine Science Eastern Shore Laboratory

Virginia Institute of Marine Science Eastern Shore Laboratory VIMS-ESL is well situated to provide access and facilities support for research, education, and service pertaining to these marine resources.

The Eastern Shore of Virginia is the narrow southern end of the Delmarva peninsula, averaging 10 miles wide and 85 miles long from Pocomoke Sound and Chincoteague to Cape Charles at the northern side of the Chesapeake Bay Mouth. Its remote and rural setting has left unspoiled barrier islands, bays, creeks and marshes along the Atlantic coast now protected by the Nature Conservancy, the State f Vir

ginia, and the Federal government. The region has been designated by the UNESCO as part of their Biosphere Reserve System, has National Natural Landmark status with the US Department of the Interior, and is part of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network. Short drainages and high salinities also make the bayside estuaries unique within the Chesapeake Bay system. Extensive marshes and seagrasses add to the natural and commercial seafood value of the regional marine resources. Extensive aquaculture occurs in the region and the hard clam industry of the area is the largest in the US. VIMS-ESL was largely responsible for the research and development that led the current clam industry, taking advantage of high quality full strength seawater available at the lab. A research hatchery at ESL provided support for the hard clam industry in the area, and currently is spawning and raising bay scallops for restoration of the wild population in the coastal bays. State of the art flowing seawater systems and molecular biology support is available for research and education.

09/09/2026
The 13th Annual Marine Life Day is coming up! Join us at the VIMS Eastern Shore Laboratory for a fun, hands-on afternoon...
09/09/2026

The 13th Annual Marine Life Day is coming up!

Join us at the VIMS Eastern Shore Laboratory for a fun, hands-on afternoon exploring the incredible marine life found right here on Virginiaโ€™s Eastern Shore! Visitors of all ages can get up close with live marine animals, explore our research, use microscopes, meet our scientists, and more. Come celebrate 13 years of Marine Life Day with us! ๐Ÿš๐Ÿฆ๐ŸŒŠ

You can register on our website or at the link in our bio! We hope to see you there!

Join us for our September seminar!Weโ€™re excited to welcome Dr. Ronan Roche, one of our long-time collaborators from Bang...
08/31/2026

Join us for our September seminar!
Weโ€™re excited to welcome Dr. Ronan Roche, one of our long-time collaborators from Bangor University! Each year, Dr. Roche brings a group of marine science students to the VIMS Eastern Shore Laboratory for hands-on learning, and this week, heโ€™ll be leading our seminar on coral reef conservation, restoration, and the impacts of human activity. ๐Ÿชธ
Come out, listen, and learn with us. Weโ€™d love to see you there! Register via QR code or at the link in our bio.

To celebrate the final days of summer before the school year begins, our next Wednesdays in the Field event will be a se...
08/27/2026

To celebrate the final days of summer before the school year begins, our next Wednesdays in the Field event will be a seining day! As always, RSVPs are greatly appreciated. Please see the attached flyer for all the essential details.

This week, we hosted the Graduate Student Orientation and welcomed the newest cohort of graduate students! They had the ...
08/21/2026

This week, we hosted the Graduate Student Orientation and welcomed the newest cohort of graduate students! They had the opportunity to explore the coastal bays and barrier islands off Wachapreague, meet the VIMS ESL team, and enjoy a seafood cookout prepared by our team. ๐Ÿฆ€๐Ÿฆช
Enjoy some photos of the students getting out in the field and experiencing fieldwork here on the Seaside!

08/17/2026

Thanks to a William & Mary Provost Mid-Career Leadership Grant, VIMS & the Batten School have established Field Booteries at both the Eastern Shore Laboratory in Wachapreague and the Gloucester Point campus. Together, they provide students with shared access to specialized footwear that can be expen...

Weโ€™re excited to share this feature on our Seaside Scholars program!A huge thank you to the Eastern Shore Soil & Water C...
08/12/2026

Weโ€™re excited to share this feature on our Seaside Scholars program!

A huge thank you to the Eastern Shore Soil & Water Conservation District, the Onancock Elks Lodge, our VIMS ESL team, and everyone who helps make this camp possible!

Check out the full story to see what our Seaside Scholars were up to this summer! ๐Ÿ‘‡

Join us tomorrow for Science by the Sea!
08/11/2026

Join us tomorrow for Science by the Sea!

Join us this August for an exciting Science by the Sea Seminar with Dr. Manuel Colombo! ๐ŸŒŠ๐Ÿ”ฌ
Discover how chemical oceanographers use trace elements and organic carbon to understand how these compounds move and interact across diverse marine ecosystems. Dr. Colombo will also share highlights from his research journey spanning the Rรญo de la Plata estuary to the Arctic Ocean.
Register using the QR code in the flyer or the link in our bio!

Last week, our second year Bonnie Sue Interns and members of The Algal Evolutionary Ecology (AlgEE) Lab had the opportun...
08/10/2026

Last week, our second year Bonnie Sue Interns and members of The Algal Evolutionary Ecology (AlgEE) Lab had the opportunity to present their work at the Eastern Shore Research Symposium and Career Exploration Event at the Eastern Shore Community College.

The event brought together scientists from across the Eastern Shore to share their research and experiences, learn about projects happening in our community, and connect with organizations offering internships and career opportunities.
Weโ€™re so proud of our Bonnie Sue interns and AlgEE Lab members for sharing their work and representing VIMS Eastern Shore Laboratory!

A big thank you to Eastern Shore Community College and Virginia Coast Reserve LTER for creating this opportunity to connect with the scientific community and explore future careers!

This past week Director and Associate Prof Stacy Krueger-Hadfield joined the William & Mary MSCI332 Wales course led b...
08/07/2026

This past week Director and Associate Prof Stacy Krueger-Hadfield joined the William & Mary MSCI332 Wales course led by Mark Luckenbach and Chris Hein along with members Isabel and ร‰owyn

1. Y Foryd seagrass and macroalgae
2. Welsh delicacy - Laverbread - is made from ๐˜—๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฉ๐˜บ๐˜ณ๐˜ข/๐˜—๐˜บ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ช๐˜ข (nori) seaweed
3. ๐˜“๐˜ข๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ขย at Church Island
4. ๐˜๐˜ถ๐˜ค๐˜ถ๐˜ดย and ๐˜ˆ๐˜ด๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฉ๐˜บ๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜ถ๐˜ฎ at Church Island
5. Patchwork of algal colors against the Menai Straight
6. MSCI332 students and instructors at Church Island
7. AlgEE Lab Isabel, ร‰wowyn, and Stacy with fossils at Red Wharf Bay
8. As a COLL class, there is more than marine science at Beaumaris Castle
9. Obligatory stop at Llanfair
10. Lecturing in the wild
11. Chris lecturing about dunesย 
12. MSCI332 students at South Stack near Holyhead
13. South Stack Lighthouse
14. Mark lecturing about cockles

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40 Atlantic Avenue, P. O. Box 350
Wachapreague, VA
23480

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