The Smithsonian Institution Sorting Centers 



The two Smithsonian Institution-operated Sorting Centers continued to 

 meet demands for the processing of biological and geological materials 

 collected by national and international marine science resource assessment 

 programs. Together, these centers — the Smithsonian Oceanographic Sorting 

 Center in Washington and the Smithsonian's Mediteranean Marine Sorting 

 Center in Tunisia — sorted and computerized the data for nearly 6 million 

 specimens. Nearly one million specimens were sent to 395 specialists through- 

 out the world. 



During 1971, the Tunisian Center also continued to function as the 

 Biological Center for the Cooperative Investigations of the Mediterranean 

 (CIM) and cooperated with the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and 

 Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in training area technicians in the 

 fundamentals of living marine resources. 



63 



