The fish collection housed at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science of the College of William and Mary provides an important resource for taxonomic, systematic and ecological investigations of freshwater, estuarine and marine fishes. The uniqueness of the collection is in part due to its historical significance as well as a close coupling with a strong graduate program in ichthyology. The collection has internationally recognized holdings of Chesapeake Bay, middle Atlantic Bight and deep-water marine fishes, as well as freshwater fishes of the southern Appalachians. These collections have provided the basis for numerous graduate research projects and investigations by systematists from many institutions. In addition, rapidly expanding collections of early life history stages of fishes from Chesapeake Bay, middle Atlantic Bight and Caribbean localities offer an important and unique source of material for ontogenetic studies. The utility of the fish collection has been limited by a lack of space to store and efficiently work with speciments, and the lack of a curatorial staff to manage it properly. Funds have been committed for the construction of a new building to house the the fish collection permanently. This project will assist in complet- ing storage capabilities of the new building and in relocating and curating the collection. Completion of the project will dramatically enhance this systematic resource and contribute to its long term preservation. The principal investigators for this work are excellent. The facilities and working environment provided by the institution will be conducive to successful completion of the efforts. The product of the work will provide an enduring and valuable resource for basic biological research as well as for efforts in conservation biology and fishery management.
