The Virginia Institute of Marine Science at Gloucester Point recently hosted several hundred scientists, educators and coastal resource managers as part of a weeklong conference based in Williamsburg.

The National Estuarine Research Reserve System held its annual meeting in Williamsburg, with the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Virginia as host. CBNERR is managed through the College of William and Mary’s marine science school, VIMS.

Dr. William Reay, CBNERR director and a VIMS professor, said the meeting “allowed our program sectors—research, education, training and stewardship—to further develop and strategically plan for increased integration, efficiency and impact at local, regional and national levels.”

The meeting was sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, CBNERR and the National Estuarine Research Reserve Association, a national nonprofit established to advance the reserve system’s work, a rel...