The Fish and Wildlife Research Institute is headquartered in St. Petersburg and operates as a division of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. FWRI's statewide research programs focus on obtaining data and information needed by natural resource managers and stakeholders. The legislatively approved agency-wide reorganization of the FWC in 2004 integrated parts of the Division of Wildlife, Division of Freshwater Fisheries, and the Florida Marine Research Institute to create the FWRI. In addition to fulfilling the functions previously provided by three groups, FWRI has added focus areas in spatial analysis, biostatistics and modeling, wildlife forensics, and socioeconomic research.