Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1961-10-03
ONE PROJECT HUsH-HUsH
Game Fish Research Pressed
By CHARLES COVELL
Outdoor Editor Of The Star


- Its formal dedication over,
the Interior Departments new
Atlantic Marine Game Fish Re-
search Center is ready at last to
begin full-scale operations for
the benefit of the sport fisher
man.
Although various Federal,
State and private laboratories
also have studied marine game
fishes as part of their overall
programs, this is the first re-
search center to be devoted ex-
clusively to the purpose. 1t was
set up by the Bureau of Sport
Fisheries and Wildlife as direct
ed by an act of Congress in
1859.
That the need is great is ap-
parent. For instance, what does
science know about the mySter-
iouS movements of the blue
fish, whose cycles of abundance
have baffled all sports fisher
men? Or the marlin or tuna
and many other game fish.
It will supplement the excel
lent work done by Maryland's
SolomonS laboratory on rock
fish and the current study of
Virginia's center at Gloucester
Point on the scarcity of croak-
ers and other drum fishes.
New Center Year Old
Actually the new center is a
year old, but it has taken capa-
BILE DR.. Lionel Walford, former
chief of the Washington Labo-
ratory of the Bureau of Com
merical Fisheries, and his staff
since last fall to get the pro-
gram off the sandhills, so to
speak.
The site is a former Army q
hospital at Fort Hancock near 8
the end of this lengthy spit of |
land. Designed by Stanford /
White and built in 1899, it was
in operation until 1851. The old
wooden building facing Sandy
Hook Bay is in a particularly {
good location for scientific pur- i
poses.
Several rivers empty into the ,
bay and the ocean is only a !
half-mile away. Thus the lab :
oratry is within easy reach Of ,
a wide variety of waters-oce- .
anic, coastal, bay and estu- !
arine. :
Takes Elbow Work
But though big enough and I
sound enough, the old hospital r
presented a sad appearance a i
year ago. Paint was peeling t
from its inside walls and CELL {
ings and otherwise it was in /
need of repair. The fact that so
much has been done shows a r
lot Of elbow work as we'll as !
biological brains have gone into 7
the laboratory. r
The three-story main build /
ing and annex with their 81 9
900 square feet of floor space :
are shining and a sea-water
system for experimental work :
and a microbiology laboratory {
and micro-organism culture IA T
cility have been added. .
A library of scientific papers !
has been collected, a museum !
opened and a room set aside ,
for the American Littoral So
ciety. an organization of skin
diving clubs from Maine to
Florida recruited by the labo-
ratory to conduct fish counts.
When funds are available, ,
the laboratory can make use of :
a former Navy cable storage de-
pot which houses six large sea-
water tanks that have a total ,
capacity of more than 100000
gallons.
Trawler Loaned
Though it has no research
vessel as yet, the laboratory had ,
the loan of the trawler Cape
May and it's crew from the
Howard Smith Industries
(menhaden) for two months
last summer. In addition, fell
lows like George B. West. me-
teorologist and oceanographer,
who has a 25-foot sea skiff, {
make use Of their own craft in
collecting plankton.
Also aiding is the Coast
Guard which sends in plankton t
samples taken near Scotland
Lightship. Vessels dock at piers
only a short distance from the
former hospital.
AS stated by Fish and Wild =
life, the center is currently en-
gagged in these activities:
Completion Of a comprehen- :
sive report on a national sur
vey Of marine game fishing as
a background for directing fu-
ture research, development of a
catalog Of game fishing facili-
ties, compilation of a listing of
all existing knowledge on ma
rine game fishes and their en-
vironment, the initiation of re-
search to fill existing gaps in (
the knowledge of the biology of
migratory fishes which utilize !