In the spring of 1885 a Marine Biological station was established near Millport on the Isle of Cumbrae in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland, by the Marine Biological Association of the West of Scotland.
This Association, in 1914, became the Scottish Marine Biological Association (SMBA).
By the 1950s the SMBA was well equipped and possessed both a deep-sea trawler - MV. Calanus, and an estuarine fishing boat - MV Mizpah.
In 1970 the SMBA moved out of the Millport Laboratory into purpose built accommodation at Dunstaffnage, near Oban, Scotland.
The vacant facility at Millport was taken over by the Universities of London and Glasgow, jointly under the title of "The University Marine Biological Station Millport" (UMBSM).
Today it is a national facility for both undergraduate and postgraduate students, offering them intensive fieldwork training. It also plays host to several overseas institutions.