World Wars Impact Woods Hole Fisheries Lab | NOAA Fisheries

Adjacent to NOAA Fisheries in Woods Hole, the Marine Biological Laboratory remained open for summer research and courses during both World Wars.

U.S. Navy Occupation during World War I

The Woods Hole [NOAA Fisheries] Laboratory was closed during both world wars. From 1917–1919, the U.S. Navy occupied much of the laboratory. Most research investigations conducted at that time, focused mainly on increasing the aquatic food supply, were either discontinued or moved to other locations. Improving methods to preserve fish and a study of nematode or fish worm infestation, which had a direct bearing on marketing fish, were the priorities during the war.

The Navy withdrew from the fisheries lab in 1919, and researchers from many academic and research organizations returned to pursue a variety of projects.

World War II: Pigeons and Crash Boats

Soon after the U.S. entered World War II in December 1941, the Woods Hole lab was closed again. The fisheries laboratory and buildings were occupied by the U.S. Navy, which took control of much of the Woods Hole waterfront until the spring of 1944. The library, laboratory equipment, and chemicals were moved to the basement of the Marine Biological Laboratory for storage. Shellfish research under Paul Galtsoff and Edith Morrison, however, continued in a rented laboratory at the MBL.