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Summary
The Protected Species Tissue Archive (Fishes and Turtles) has been held at Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum since 2021. It ensures appropriate curation of tissue samples obtained from these species, improved visibility of and access to samples by researchers and mana whenua, and is used to track the fate of samples, and scientific research outputs.
As of 8 April 2025, the Protected Species Tissue Archive contained 757 samples from 172 protected fishes and sea turtles. There were no samples collected by the fisheries observer program or fishers during this period. During this period, a request was completed in consultation with the DOC Marine Species Manger, for samples from 10 - 15 young-of the-year (YOY) or juvenile white sharks from Flinders University
The Archive acts as a central repository for samples and their data that is managed into the long-term. The Protected Species Tissue Archive is an essential tool for ongoing protected species management in both NZ and Internationally. Museums are ideal places for tissue archives, providing greater stability in the long-term care and management of collections. The Archive holds great potential to be expanded to other species groups such as protected and threatened fauna.
Recommendations include:
- The Protected Species Tissue Archive has reached the point where it can begin providing essential material and data for research on New Zealand’s protected fishes and marine reptiles and should therefore be continued.
- Recent events in the tertiary education sector and changes to crown research institutes demonstrate that housing nationally significant collections such as this in museums provides for greater stability and continuity of care, as well as improved access to genetic samples.
- DOC biodiversity staff should be reminded to collect and deposit tissue samples in the archive prior to the peak of turtle strandings in spring-early summer each year.
- There is a need to improve the process around the deposition of tissue samples collected from animals treated at Auckland Zoo in the archive.
- Agreements between DOC, researchers and mana whenua need to be clearly communicated to the museum so that these can be accurately reflected in the permissions and uses attributed to samples.
- Efforts to maximise the number of samples collected by Fisheries Observers and/or fishers should be continued, particularly for threatened species with low sample sizes such as leatherback turtles and basking sharks.
- The IUCN-SSC Marine Turtle Specialist Group and Asia-Pacific Marine Turtle Genetic Working Group (http://www.marineturtlegenetics.org/) should be updated on the status of the tissue archive and the process for loaning material from it.
- Consideration should be given to expanding the archive to include other marine protected species such as corals.
Publication information
Duffy, C. 2025. Collection and curation of tissue samples from protected fishes and turtles (2024-2025). INT2024-07 final report prepared for Conservation Services Programme, Department of Conservation. 12 p.