Bosses at Lowestoft-based Cefas have sealed a five-year strategic alliance with the University of Exeter which will the two join forces over teaching and research.

Over the past few years Cefas (the Centre for Environment, Aquaculture and Fisheries Science) has worked with the university in a wide range of areas from jointly teaching on Exeter MSc courses and student participation on scientific marine cruises to joint research projects on ocean acidification, aquatic toxicology and marine organism diseases.

Cefas, which operates as an executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, is the government's foremost source of evidence, applied science and impartial expert advice for marine and closely related aquatic environments. It has two main laboratories, in Lowestoft and Weymouth, and operates out of a number of port offices around the English coastline.

The signing session at the University of Exeter has formalised an existing collaboration between Cefas and the University of Exeter, which already includes lecturing opportunities, student placements and pursuing joint research projects.

Dr Richard Judge, Cefas chief executive, said: 'We're already seeing excellent collaboration between Exeter and Cefas. I'm delighted to be reinforcing this through a longer-term commitment. Bringing our respective strengths together helps us to get even more value from our research capabilities, bringing value to wider society and our scientists alike.'

Prof Nick Talbot, the University of Exeter's deputy vice-chancellor said: 'The collaboration is great news for Exeter. It not only provides access to applied scientific research teams at Cefas, but also provides opportunities for our students and researchers to utilise marine samples collected by Cefas. Importantly, it also enables us to demonstrate the impact of our work to government policy-makers and a range of stakeholders.'