The Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory (FSUCML) is located on St. James Island in northwest Florida on the coast of Apalachee Bay, about 45 miles southwest of Tallahassee. The laboratory offers unique opportunities for research, education, and outreach on the Gulf of Mexico in a biologically diverse, pristine environment. Habitats range from inshore oyster reefs to offshore patch reefs, from freshwater bogs to seagrass and saltmarshes. The FSUCML is in close proximity to the St. Mark's National Wildlife Refuge (68,000 acres, one of the oldest refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System), the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve (246,000 acres), and Tate's Hell (202,414 acres of state forest in Franklin and Liberty counties).

The FSUCML's research program focuses on coastal and marine issues of ecological importance that provide the scientific basis for policy decisions. The issues range from reef fish ecology to fisheries management, from food web interactions to phytoplankton blooms, from water quality to flow dynamics. Researchers include resident faculty, faculty from the FSU departments of anthropology, biological science, oceanography, and geology, as well as investigators from outside the university. Underwater research support is provided through the FSUCML's Academic Diving Program, dedicated to the support of safe and efficient underwater research and education.

The FSU Police Department supervises security for the FSU Coastal and Marine Laboratory in conjunction with the Franklin County Sheriff's office.