The Institute of Marine Sciences (IMS) was established on 17th October, 1978 in accordance with the University
of Dar es Salaam Act 1970. It is located in Zanzibar in the premises of the former East African Marine Fisheries
Research Organization (EAMFRO) and has a mariculture substation in Pangani. The Institute was established
with the following aims and objectives:

The primary objective of the Institute is to undertake research in all aspects of Marine Sciences.
The Institute shall provide postgraduate studies in Marine Sciences.
Provide advisory and consultancy services in Marine Affairs.
In future and in accordance with the country's manpower demand, the Institute shall establish undergraduate
studies in Marine Sciences.
The Institute shall be engaged in exploitation of Marine Resources as part of merging theory and practice.

The Institute is organized into three sections, namely:
Physical and Environmental Marine Sciences (PEMS)
Marine Biology and Resources Management (MBRM)
Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

PEMS and MBRM are academic sections while ICT is a cross-cutting section. The ICT section apart from
carrying out normal IT responsibilities provides GIS services and houses the National Oceanographic Data
Centre (TzNODC), and the Marine Education Extension Development (MEED) unit. The MEED unit is the
outreach arm of the Institute as its main function is to translate scientific/research findings into a simple language
for the various stakeholders.

The Institute has a good range of oceanographic equipment for field work. It also has well equipped research
laboratories and there is ample working space for visiting scientists and postgraduate students. Through the Sida
Marine Sciences Bilateral Programme, the Institute provides scholarships for postgraduate studies in Marine
Sciences. The Institute maintains good collaboration with donor agencies such as IOC, Sida, CIDA, UNEP,
UNESCO, IUCN, WWF, IFS, the World Bank, and many others. By maintaining a clearly focused research
agenda, the Institute has been able to contribute to the national development, economically and scientifically. The
Institute's Research Agenda identifies four broad themes of focus for the next ten years 2014-2023. These are:

Environment, climate change and impacts on coastal and marine ecosystems; risk management strategies,
Food security, poverty alleviation, diseases eradication and sustainable coastal and marine resource management
Resource management support tools (Modelling, Remote sensing, GIS and marine geoinformatics).
Marine technology and innovation. This is a new area of concentration with emphasis being in the following
areas: Marine Prospecting (Minerals, Oil and Gas Technology), Fisheries Gear Engineering, Coastal and Harbour
Engineering, Offshore Engineering, Marine Satellite Remote Sensing, Hydro-acoustic and Fish Capture
Technologies.

From the onset, it was realized that the current premises would not be enough for future expansion of IMS
activities and the anticipated increase in student enrolment. Thus, the Government of the United Republic of
Tanzania is currently constructing a new premise at Buyu, South of Zanzibar Town for expansion of the Institute
and it is hoped that during the 2015/2016 academic year the Institute may be able to relocate some of her
activities to Buyu.