Shanghai Ocean University is a university jointly established by the Shanghai Municipal People's Government, the State Oceanic Administration and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. It is a national "world-class discipline construction university", and has been selected into the excellent agricultural and forestry talents education and training plan of the Ministry of Education, the national high-level university public graduate program, the national "featured key discipline plan", the Shanghai high-level local university construction plan, the national college students' innovation and entrepreneurship training plan, the national graduate employment typical experience university, and the first batch of demonstration universities in Shanghai to deepen the innovation and entrepreneurship education reform. It is an interdisciplinary applied research university with the characteristics of marine, aquatic products and food disciplines and the coordinated development of agriculture, science, engineering, economics, management, literature and law. It is the guiding unit of Shanghai Fisheries Society, Shanghai Food Society and Shanghai Fishery Economic Research Association, and owns the National University Science Park.
The school's predecessor was Jiangsu Fisheries School, which was founded in 19 12. It was upgraded to Shanghai Fisheries College, the first undergraduate fisheries university in China, and was renamed Shanghai Fisheries University on 1985 after being run by Fisheries College of Agricultural College of National Central University, National Sichuan Fisheries Vocational School, Shanghai Wusong Fisheries College and Shanghai Fisheries College.