Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-29
FEDBRAL CULTURE OF FISHERIES

| Fish. being one of the most important
foods, has been the subject of considera-
! ton since the achievement
Beginning Of our national independ-
| - NIL, ence. But while several
| VI Wo1A' states had fish commissions,
and the American Fish Cultural Associa-
ton. now the American Fisheries Society.
was in existence prior to 1871. no branch
| of the government was charged with
this question until that year. But mat
| tiers of Importance arising of both a
foreign and domestic nature, Congress
| was influenced to pass an act creating
the Office of commissioner Of fish and
| fisheries in 1871. it's duties being to prose-
cute investigations and inquiries on the
| subject. with view of .ascertaining
whether any and what diminution in the
number of the food fish of the coast and
the lakes Of the United States had taken
place; and If so. to what causes the same
is due: and also whether. any and what
protective. prohibitory or precautionary
| measures should be adopted in the prem
ises.' -
Although nothing was attached to the
position Of commissioner of fish and fish
cries but ''honor and glory man, re-
garded as pre-eminently qualified for the
new position was found. and Spencer Full
| lerton Baird. then assistant secretary of
| the Smithsonian Institution, was given the
appointment. Commissioner Baird entered
upon his duties at once and continued as
the head of the commission until his
death in 1887. Succeeding him came DR..
George Brown GOOde. eminent as an ich-
thyologist and fishery expert. who had
fon loco
than a years time, however, DR.. Goode
voluntarily gave up the commissionership
! to devote his entire time to the National
Museum. of which he was director. Next
came Commissioner Marshall Mcdonald.
practical fish culturist and inventor of
important mechanical appliances now
| used in the Matching of fish all over the
world. who. like Commissioner Baird.
served until his death. in 1885 Commits
| sioner Mcdonald was the first salaried
head of the commission. Following him
| came Capt. John J. Brice retired naval.
officer. who held the Office for two years
and was succeeded in 1898 by George
Meade, Bowers. the present commissioner.
Until 1903 the bureau was known as the
United States commission of fish and
fisheries and was an independent insti-
tuition OF the government. responsible di-
rectly to Congress. In that year it was
included in the new Department of Com
merce and Labor. becoming the United
States bureau Of fisheries.
From the outset the work of the bu-
reau naturally fell under the three gen
eral heads of scientific
Organization investigation. fishery in
- Quiry and fish culture
This same classification,
extended and perfected. enters into the
organization at the present time. APP
proximately $50 persons form the present
personnel Of the bureau, of whom all but
about ninety are at outside stations labo-
ratories or on vessels. The land owned
and occupied by the bureau at it's fish
cultural and biological stations covers an
aggregate area Of 1900 acres. with a
value of $4,000. improvements and
equipments at these stations represent
more than $1.Ooo.0OO while other property
Of the bureau includes four seagoing
steam and sail vessels twenty steam
launches and $50 small sail. power and
row boats, which, with equipment, are
valued at about 100000. Six fish trans
portatjon cars are worth $4,000. The
aggregate investment of the national gov
eminent In property devoted to the fish
cry service is thus about 81 So, 900. And
in the beginning 5000 was appropriated
for it's work and no salary for it's head!
At the time of the formation of the
bureau artificial propagation of fishes
was not contemplated. but was instituted
by an act Of Congress a year after it's
establishment. The fishes to which at
tention was first given We're the shad,
Atlantic salmon. and whitefish. The
work proved so popular that it was ex-
tended annually and soon overshadowed
all other branches. The policy followed
by the bureau. as enunciated by DR..
GoOde. has been that it is better to eX-
pend a small amount of public money
in making fish so abundant that they can
be caught without restriction and serve
4t.> f~,
than to expend a much larger sum in
preventing the people from catching the
few fish that still remain after genera
lions OF improvidence.
The actual work of the bureau has fol-
lowed this line, to increase the fish life
Of this country instead of de-
Paternal voting it's time to the enact
IT,. ment and enforcement Of
"A'' fishery legislation. In this
work the United States government has
special and unique claim to be styled
''paternal.' The stocking of waters with
food fishes is a direct benefit to the pub
lie, not only increasing the very ma
terial that supports enormous in
dustry. but providing food itself for the
individual who will but use his hook and
line. After ten years existence the fishes
f,
numbered about ten. Today that num-
her has been increased almost seven
times, and is still growing. Fish Gull
tural work is conducted in considerably
more than half the states. about sixty
hatcheries or subhatcheries have been
established and siXtyfive field stations.
peculiar kind Of station which is in
cluded In this general class is that de-
voted to the collection of fishes of various
kinds obtained from the overflow in the
upper Mississippi valley. In the low
lands along the streams in this region
the spring floods recedins leave discon-
nected sloughs and pools which either
become dry during the summer, or, if
they remain until the winter freeze
solid. immense numbers of fish therein
being lost. BY SEEMING these waters the
bureau obtains large numbers of fish
and returns some of them to their native
streams. distributing others to adjacent
waters. In the autumn of a single year
six cars were employed in moving the
fishes thus rescued
From 1872 to 1908 the aggregate dis
tribution from the hatcheries Of the
bureau OF fisheries was about 22,365,-
100000 eggs fry and fishes. OF which
total about 1884. 100000 represents
the work of the last five years of
that time. For instance, in single
year, practically 100000, 900 whitefish
~