The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture and the University of Washington recently announced that the UW Fish Collection will become part of the Burke Museum. The University determined that the Burke, as an accredited museum, is in the best position within the University to protect and preserve this research collection for future generations.

Totaling 7.2 million specimens, the collection acts as a databank for research and species identification by scientists around the world, scholars from local and regional agencies, UW students and faculty, and the interested public. The Fish collection was gathered from the Pacific Northwest and across the entire Pacific Rim, and are digitally cataloged and heavily-documented. The collection was previously managed by the School of Aquatic & Fishery Sciences and the College of Ocean and Fishery Sciences. The Burke Museum is pleased to be entering into a partnership with the School to further support the collections for the future.

The collection will become increasingly valuable to the world community as global deterioration of natural environments continue to cause the extinction of species. Says Burke Curator of Fishes, Dr. Ted Pietsch, "If extinctions continue, studies of species diversity will have to rely on specimens in collections. Of particular concern is the environment of the ocean and especially its fishes, which are vital to our planet's food chain, and about which little is known."

Pietsch goes on to say, "This large, well-documented fish collection is the only such resource in the Pacific Northwest. It provides an essential source of information about past populations, offers a critical means to predict future environmental change, and is essential to understanding the dynamics of aquatic ecosystems, not only in the Puget Sound region, but across the entire Pacific Rim."

Burke Museum Director, Dr. Julie Stein comments that, "The Burke Museum curators, staff, and board members are excited about this new addition and look forward to our continued partnership with the School of Aquatic & Fishery Sciences and the College of Ocean and Fishery Sciences to maintain and grow this extraordinary collection."

The Fish Collection is located in the UW Fisheries Teaching and Research building, where it will continue to be housed. It was developed and maintained through the efforts of Dr. Ted Pietsch, formerly Curator of Fish in the School of Aquatic & Fishery Sciences, a school within the College of Ocean and Fishery Sciences. Pietsch will continue to maintain the collections as Burke Museum Curator of Fishes.