September 17, 2025 — The Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center recently archived more than 700 fish and squid specimens at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. Science Center researchers collected the specimens during research surveys. This collaborative effort will support genetic research efforts for generations and help scientists better understand and sustainably manage marine species in the Pacific.
Collaboration
In June 2025, Dr. Matt Girard, a zoologist and visiting scientist from the Smithsonian, collaborated with NOAA’s Dr. Jonathan Whitney and research scientists from the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center in Honolulu. The center houses a vast collection of marine specimens, including fish and cephalopods, collected over decades through research surveys and NOAA’s Observer Program. To support long-term preservation and enhance genetic reference libraries, the Smithsonian offered to take custody of select specimens from the collection.
Specimens Taken to the Smithsonian
The collection included:
- 300-plus genetic vouchers of fish from NOAA’s 2024 Fisheries Oceanography Mission
- More than 100 fish samples from our wet archive, some collected as early as 1976
- Nearly 375 cephalopod specimens collected from research cruises and the stomachs of lancetfish collected by NOAA’s Observer Program
NOAA Fisheries staff, interns, and volunteers carefully processed, preserved, and packaged the specimens. They then shipped them to the Smithsonian. Many have already been cataloged into the National Collections and will serve as the genetic standard for their species in our region.