Basic Search  more>> Genus Species Continent/Ocean Country State/Province County/Area or try the advanced search
	News Update  more>> 07/10/07 - More providers being added ... 07/04/05 - Beta search portal up. FishNet 2 website gains a new look. 03/30/05 - The schedule for FishNet 2 updates has been compiled.

FishNet is a "distributed information system" that uses DiGIR and XML protocols to link together the specimen records of museums and other institutions in a seamless information-retrieval system. FishNet differs from more centralized databases in several important respects. First, the information is distributed. This means that the databases are located at Partner Institutions and they retain full control over what information they make available to FishNet. Second, Partner Institutions are constantly updating and adding to their records and this new information is available via FishNet on a daily or weekly basis. Third, users can download parts of the databases in a variety of formats and analyze this information on their own computers.

FishNet 2 is an outgrowth of the original FishNet project with improvements in network stability, georeferencing capabilities, and technical support. FishNet 2 is being developed with updated DiGIR protocol software and georeferencing tools for automatic geocoding of all partner institutions' records. The Beta version of the search portal is functional, and as partner institutions are equipped with the DiGIR software package, they can be added to the beta network. Currently, there are 29 partner institutions on 4 continents, and there is an open invitation for any institution with a fish collection to join.

Efforts to connect other collection databases include HerpNet, MaNIS, OrNis, and GBIF.