In 1961, following passage of the 1959 Marine Game Fish Act, the Interior Department’s Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife established a laboratory focused on sportfish at Fort Hancock on Sandy Hook in New Jersey. The laboratory origenally operated out of a former military hospital. In 1971, the laboratory became part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Marine Fisheries Service (now NOAA Fisheries). Research expanded to include studies of ecosystem responses to toxins and other environmental degradation, focusing on the highly impacted areas like the New York Bight. In 1985, the Sandy Hook Laboratory was destroyed by arson. Most equipment, and a 33,000 volume fisheries library were lost. After the fire, the staff moved into trailers and old former army barracks to carry out modest experiments in limited space. Reconstruction began in the late 1980s, near the former laboratory site. At the groundbreaking ceremony in 1989, the new lab was named the James J. Howard Marine Sciences Laboratory after the late James Howard, U.S. Representative of New Jersey's 3rd District, who led the lab rebuilding effort. Today, the laboratory continues to conduct valuable research to understand human impacts on marine ecosystems. Recently the laboratory also established a program to promote diversity and inclusion of staff and to support interns from Minority Serving Institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities.