The Institute’s beginnings date back to June 1921 when the Sea Fisheries Laboratory was established in Hel for the purpose of conducting research in hydrology and marine biology. Since 2000, the Sea Fisheries Institute has been supervised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). According to the Regulation of the Council of Ministers of June 2011, the Institute has been awarded National Research Institute (NRI) status. Upon attaining the status of NRI, the National Marine Fisheries Research Institute has joined the elite ranks of Polish national research institutes. The main research interests of the NMFRI include disciplines that enable an ecosystem approach to fisheries management, i.e., marine ecology, marine chemistry, fishing gear technology, and fishery economics. The area of innovative and technical research done by the NMFRI comprises fish processing technology and mechanization as well as food and environmental chemistry.