Protocol for Access to Tissue Specimen Samples from the National Marine Mammal Tissue Bank

This request is for extension of a current information collection. In 1989, the National Marine Mammal Tissue Bank (NMMTB) was established by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Office of Protected Resources (OPR) in collaboration with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Minerals Management Service (MMS), and the US Geological Survey/Biological Resources Division (USGS/BRD). The NMMTB provides protocols, techniques, and physical facilities for the long-term storage of tissues from marine mammals. Scientists can request tissues from this repository for retrospective analyses to determine environmental trends of contaminants and other substances of interest. The NMMTB collects, processes, and stores tissues from specific indicator species (e.g., Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, Atlantic white sided dolphins, pilot whales, harbor porpoises), animals from mass strandings, animals that have been obtained incidental to commercial fisheries, animals taken for subsistence purposes, biopsies, and animals from unusual mortality events through two projects, the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program (MMHSRP) and the Alaska Marine Mammal Tissue Archival Project (AMMTAP). The purposes of this collection of information are: 1) to enable NOAA to allow the scientific community the opportunity to request tissue specimen samples from the NMMTB and, 2) to enable the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program (MMHSRP) of NOAA to assemble information on all specimens submitted to the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Biorepository (NIST Biorepository), which includes the NMMTB. Under 16 U.S.C. 1421f section 407(d)(1) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the NMFS must establish criteria for access to marine mammal tissues in the NMMTB and make those available for public comment and review. This was accomplished through the proposed rule RIN 0648-AQ51, published on 11/12/2002, and codified in 50 CFR 216.47.

The latest form for Protocol for Access to Tissue Specimen Samples from the National Marine Mammal Tissue Bank expires 2027-12-31 and can be found here.

National Marine Mammal Tissue Bank - Tissue Request Form

Federal Enterprise Architecture: Natural Resources - Conservation, Marine and Land Management

Review document collections for all forms, instructions, and supporting documents - including paper/printable forms.