HARBOR BRANCH - OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

HARBOR BRANCH AND SENATOR KEN PRUITT ANNOUNCE $1.5 MILLION IN NEW STATE FUNDING FOR INDIAN RIVER, CORAL REEF, AND DRUG DISCOVERY RESEARCH

FT. PIERCE -- On Wednesday, Senator Ken Pruitt and scientists from Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution will be available at Harbor Branch at 2:00 p.m. to discuss $1.5 million in new state funding for the institution authorized in the 2004 budget. The money will support research and monitoring of the Indian River Lagoon and the harmful spread of seaweed on Florida reefs as well as expand the search in Florida waters for marine creatures that produce chemicals with the potential to cure human diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's.

The funding was added to the state's budget by Senator Pruitt in direct response to the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy's report, a first draft of which was released to state governors and the public on April 20 (see: www.oceancommission.gov). The historic report's recommendations suggest that profound changes are required in Florida and around the country in order to effectively manage the country's ocean resources, and the state is already working toward appropriate action.

The state's full response, including comments and suggestions, will be released on Wednesday and copies will be available at the 2:00 event. The report will be revised according to input from governors and the public and then submitted to the president and Congress later this year.

The new Harbor Branch funding is designated for research that will support and complement the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Florida Oceans Initiative, a plan outlined in the agency's fall 2003 budget. The initiative calls for an expansion of partnerships between scientists, research institutions and environmental managers to establish marine research priorities that protect the economic and environmental significance of Florida's ocean resources.

The $1.5 million includes two separate elements:

1.) $1 million administered through the DEP to support Indian River Lagoon and drug discovery research (budget item# 1941R).

--$400,000 will be used to create a new Indian River Lagoon research center at Harbor Branch that will regularly monitor lagoon water quality and pollution levels as well as explore the impacts of both natural and human stresses on dolphins and other lagoon organisms. The funding will also support further research on a manatee virus related to a virus that causes cervical cancer in humans.

--$600,000 will support Harbor Branch's ongoing search for cures to human diseases that can be found in marine organisms. This will include a two-week expedition to explore Florida waters using one of Harbor Branch's research submersibles either late this year or early next year.

2.) $500,000 administered through the Florida Marine Research Institute to support Harbor Branch research to study the extent and causes of seaweed spread on Florida reefs. The work will include collaboration with scientists from FMRI as well as the Smithsonian Field Station in Ft. Pierce (budget item#1941 AB).

HARBOR BRANCH Oceanographic Institution was founded in Ft. Pierce, Fla., in 1971 to support the exploration and conservation of the world's oceans. The institution has held to this mission and grown into one of the world's leading oceanographic institutions with a 500-acre campus, over 200 personnel, and a fleet of sophisticated research ships and submersibles.