Royal D. Suttkus Fish Collection: swamp bunker with 8 million dead fish
September 17, 2018 8:50 AM Subscribe
Ten miles south-east of New Orleans are some World War II structures (Google streetview), including 29 concrete bunkers. You can go hiking in the area, or you could visit 7 or 8 million dead fish in two of those bunkers. They are the Royal D. Suttkus Fish Collection, the largest fish archive in the world, which has only grown in recent years as it took in at least part of University of Louisiana at Monroe's fish collection, which that university was divesting due to reduced funding.
If you aren't in the area and can't schedule an appointment to visit, the collection, the majority of which has been collected from the freshwater river basins in the Gulf-South region (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Arkansas, Tennessee and Georgia), is completely digitized and 95% georeferenced. Records of the collection are accessible on line through Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and the FishNet2 network of fish collection databases, which is presently managed by the Tulane University Biodiversity Research Institute (TUBRI).
If you aren't in the area and can't schedule an appointment to visit, the collection, the majority of which has been collected from the freshwater river basins in the Gulf-South region (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Arkansas, Tennessee and Georgia), is completely digitized and 95% georeferenced. Records of the collection are accessible on line through Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and the FishNet2 network of fish collection databases, which is presently managed by the Tulane University Biodiversity Research Institute (TUBRI).
This is my favorite bit from the Atlas Obscura article: "Jonathan Walczak is an investigative journalist and archivist hired by TUBRI to collect and piece together notes of Royal D. Suttkus that were damaged or lost during Hurricane Katrina. “I don’t even know how to describe in a quick way what I do, so I just jokingly tell people that I work in a swamp bunker with 8 million dead fish. Which is accurate.”
posted by Making You Bored For Science at 10:39 AM on September 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Making You Bored For Science at 10:39 AM on September 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
They are the Royal D. Suttkus Fish Collection, the largest fish archive in the world, which has only grown in recent years as it took in at least part of University of Louisiana at Monroe's fish collection, which that university was divesting due to reduced funding.
This is going to be super-villain origin story, isn't it.
posted by mhoye at 12:27 PM on September 17, 2018
This is going to be super-villain origin story, isn't it.
posted by mhoye at 12:27 PM on September 17, 2018
Yes, if its a scientist who is an enraged ichthyologist. For a stereotypical 1980s super-villain, they'd be enraged that U of L Monroe prioritized running track improvements over its science library, making matters worse, they failed so spectacularly to plan for those track improvements impacting anything else that they gave the collection curators 48 hours to suggest an alternate location. (Assuming that the University of Louisiana at Monroe Museum of Natural History caretakers hadn't been searching for solutions for months already.)
You know, because that kind of anti-jock science nerd trope is so tired and not at all based in current realities.
A more modern super-villain origin story would be more nuanced, with a bit of "unknown fish kept in cryogenic stasis thawed out in warm river water, turns out to be an aquatic super-genius and directs the river dwellers to rise up and attack anyone in or near the river," for a dash of Golden Era nostalgia.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:44 PM on September 17, 2018 [7 favorites]
You know, because that kind of anti-jock science nerd trope is so tired and not at all based in current realities.
A more modern super-villain origin story would be more nuanced, with a bit of "unknown fish kept in cryogenic stasis thawed out in warm river water, turns out to be an aquatic super-genius and directs the river dwellers to rise up and attack anyone in or near the river," for a dash of Golden Era nostalgia.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:44 PM on September 17, 2018 [7 favorites]
This abandoned building only had 3,000 fish, so I guess Suttkus wins.
posted by GuyZero at 1:39 PM on September 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by GuyZero at 1:39 PM on September 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
it took in at least part of University of Louisiana at Monroe's fish collection, which that university was divesting due to reduced funding.
Fuck you, Jindal.
*spits*
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 2:59 PM on September 17, 2018 [6 favorites]
Fuck you, Jindal.
*spits*
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 2:59 PM on September 17, 2018 [6 favorites]
This abandoned building only had 3,000 fish, so I guess Suttkus wins.
It operates on whole different...scale.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:08 PM on September 17, 2018 [3 favorites]
It operates on whole different...scale.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:08 PM on September 17, 2018 [3 favorites]
Hooray! for this! Bartram's praises are sung, but Suttkus's work goes a bit unacknowledged.
I spent years working on the UGA fish collection, which was stored in the abandoned primate research center.With the creepy monkey cages and asbestos. I wish Ichthyology got a bit more respect--more of the world is going to be fish habitat very soon.
posted by eustatic at 8:17 PM on September 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
I spent years working on the UGA fish collection, which was stored in the abandoned primate research center.With the creepy monkey cages and asbestos. I wish Ichthyology got a bit more respect--more of the world is going to be fish habitat very soon.
posted by eustatic at 8:17 PM on September 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
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posted by stillnocturnal at 10:27 AM on September 17, 2018 [1 favorite]