- About
- With 500+ faculty, staff and students and three campus locations, the Batten School & VIMS are equipped to tackle pressing challenges through research, education and advisory service.
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- Research & Advisory
- Purple marsh crabs are significantly disrupting carbon cycling in salt marshes along the East Coast of the U.S., according to a study led by Batten School & VIMS scientists.
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- Batten School
- The R. Todd Stravitz Scholars Program will provide full tuition support for students pursuing the new bachelor’s degree in coastal & marine sciences at the Batten School & VIMS.
  
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- Engage
- Popular, free camps enable rising third through eighth graders to learn about the Chesapeake Bay, coastal ecosystems and environmental stewardship.
  
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- News & Events
- National TRAP Program funds large-scale cleanup of discarded fishing gear, first round of subawards totaling more than $1.4M supports 11 projects focused on removing derelict fishing gear from coastal waters in nine U.S. states and Palau.
  
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- Giving
- As an expression of parental pride in their daughter, Taylor Spencer ‘83 and Martha Spencer recently established an undergraduate field research endowment at the Batten School & VIMS.
  
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Unidentified Marine Organism?

I've encountered an unfamiliar marine organism on the beach or in the water. How can I find out what it is?

If you have discovered a "UFO" — unidentified fishy organism — please [[vimspr,send us an e-mail]] with a description (location, size, shape, color, behavior, etc.) and a digital photo. You can aid our efforts at identification by including a measuring stick or other object for scale. For pictures of fish, it helps to spread the fins, as the number of rays and fin position are often diagnostic characters. Also, please let us know if we can share your image with others.

The images in the album below illustrate some of the more common UFOs submitted to the Batten School & VIMS for identification: