The VIMS fish collection will continue to serve as the regional repository for estuarine and marine fishes of the Chesapeake Bay and the middle Atlantic Bight, and will continue to expand its holdings of the deep- sea, freshwater and exotic fishes as well as early life history stages of marine fishes. In addition, the VIMS fish collection will act as the Commonwealth of Virginia Ichthyological Collection, acting as a repository for state agencies and universities.
A number of on-going investigations, long-term monitoring efforts and planned projects provide excellent opportunities for continuing acquisition of material. These include (but are not limited to):
1. VIMS Lower Bay Finfish Monitoring (supported by Commonwealth of Virginia) - These monthly spring and summer surveys of the lower Chesapeake Bay monitor juvenile fish recruitment to important commercial fisheries interests of the Commonwealth.
2. VIMS Anadromous Fish Surveys (supported by NOAA, NMFS) - Annual spring monitoring of juvenile clupeiform fishes by bow- mounted pushnet is conducted weekly during spring and early summer periods of recruitment.
3. VIMS Seine Surveys (supported by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wallop Breaux Fund) - Weekly seine collections in oligohaline portions of the James, York and Rappahannock rivers monitor recruitment of striped bass.
4. VIMS Longline Surveys (supported Virginia Marine Resources Commission) -Regular spring, summer and fall sets of baited longlines monitor historical trends in the abundance and define distributions of sharks from Cape Henlopen, Delaware to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
5 Spawning Assessment Surveys (supported by Commonwealth of Virginia and various agencies) - Regular ichthyoplankton cruises designed to estimate stock size and monitor spawning activity of striped bass, sciaenids and anchovies are conducted during spring, summer and fall months in the lower Chesapeake Bay and contiguous waters. These surveys yield abundant egg, larval and juvenile material.
6 Deep-sea Demersal Fish Study (supported by NSF and NOAA) - Periodic trawl expeditions to define historical trends in community structure of demersal, bathyal fishes from 200 to 3000m off the middle Atlantic Bight.
7. Belize Ichthyoplankton Surveys - Collections of early life history stages of Belize fishes began in 1985 in a study of grouper spawning ecology and recruitment in cooperation with the New York Zoological Society. These collections continue intermittently and are providing an important source of poorly-known larval material.
8. St. Eustatius Collections - Cooperative agreements between the government of St. Eustatius and the College of William and Mary have provided collecting opportunities in recent years.
9. “Roanoke Round-Up” - Annual collecting trip of VIMS graduate ichthyology class to Roanoke, VA and other areas to sample freshwater fishes of the southern Appalachians.
10. Brazil - Cooperative agreements with Brazilian investigators (Dr. Cassiano Monteiro-Neto and Dr. Labbish Chao) can provide opportunities for acquisition of material from the Amazon Basin and northern coastal Brazil.
Furthermore, we will continue to exchange material well represented in the VIMS fish collection for exotic taxa at other ichthyological centers. We maintain close association with regional universities and will continue to acquire material collected in independent projects. Finally, we benefit from public awareness of this collection and will continue to accept unusual specimens from commercial and recreational fishing interests as well as the general public.