The United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries began in Woods Hole in 1871. The organization was the precursor to NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service, and its northeast fisheries center is still located in Woods Hole. Today, with an aging infrastructure and space limited, the organization is conducting a feasibility study looking at whether to rebuild in Woods Hole or relocate elsewhere in Barnstable County.

Here is a look at the Northeast Fisheries Center in Woods Hole, which houses research laboratories and provides overall management and direction for the organization's five laboratories in the northeast.

Woods Hole is also home to the Woods Hole Science Aquarium run by NOAA. About 140 marine species can be found at the facility, which is also the country's oldest marine aquarium.