Business opportunities Doing business at AIMS The Australian Institute of Marine Science brings together some of the world’s best expertise and capacity in marine science. The Institute was established by the Commonwealth 30 years ago and located in northern Queensland to provide knowledge of the nation’s most treasured marine resource, the Great Barrier Reef. Since the main laboratories opened at Cape Ferguson, 50km from Townsville, AIMS researchers have built international reputations in three broad areas of science – marine biodiversity and conservation, coastal processes, and marine biotechnology. The two research vessels RV Cape Ferguson and the RV Lady Basten log an average of 250 days at sea each year, plying the tropical waters off Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. A range of smaller vessels also support fieldwork near-shore and offshore. Satellite bases in Fremantle and Darwin supplement research at the main facility. The Institute employs more than 160 staff and has an organisational structure divided into three science groups and various support sections. The Conservation and Biodiversity Group is a world leader in the ecology of shallow marine ecosystems, including the biology of corals and fish, and is fast gaining pre-eminence in seabed biodiversity assessment, particularly in the deep waters of the North West Shelf. The Coastal Processes Group is a world leader in the ecology of mangroves and salt marshes; it draws upon a unique combination of strengths in physical and biological oceanography, as well as biogeochemistry. The Marine Biotechnology Group is a world leader in marine natural products chemistry, molecular biology and physiology; these skills, coupled with the opportunity to study organisms in the wild or at the Institute’s aquaculture facility, provide a unique platform to undertake biotechnology research. The Institute’s scientists are widely published and leaders in their fields.  AIMS collaborates with many other research organisations to successfully tap Australia’s tropical marine resources to answer questions of universal relevance. These alliances underpin the work of management authorities and government decision-makers, and help to support the sustainable use and protection of the marine environment.       Australian Institute of Marine Science ABN 78 961 616 230   Contact information   Townsville Australian Institute of Marine Science PMB 3, Townsville MC Townsville 4810,  Queensland, Australia Tel: (07) 4753 4444 Fax: (07) 4772 5852 Tel international: 617 4753 4444 Fax international: 617 4772 5852   Darwin Australian Institute of Marine Science PO Box 40197, Casuarina MC Casuarina 0811,  Northern Territory, Australia Tel: (08) 8945 9524 Mob: 0429101812 Fax: (08) 8946 6847 Tel international: 618 8945 9524 Fax international: 618 8946 6847   Perth Australian Institute of Marine Science Hackett Drive, Entrance 3 Botany Building The University of Western Australia Crawley 6009, Western Australia, Australia Tel: (08) 6488 4582 Fax: (08) 6488 4585 Tel international: 618 6488 4582 Fax international: 618 6488 4585   Office hours are 8:00 am to 4:40 pm  Monday to Friday (local times) For business information Please email business@aims.gov.au    August 04, 2004