An Act to establish a sound and comprehensive national policy with respect to fish and wildlife; to strengthen the fish and wildlife segments of the national economy; to establish within the Department of the Interior the position of Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife; to establish a United States Fish and Wildlife Service; and for other purposes.
PL 84-1024 (S.3275), enacted 08/08/1956

70 S T A T . ] 
P U B U C LAW 1024-AUG. 8, 1956 
1110 
Public Law 1024 
CHAPTER 1036 
AN ACT 
August 8, 195(1 
To establish a sound and comprehensive national policy with respect to fish and 
[S. 3275] 
wildlife; to strengthen the fish and wildlife segments of the national economy; 
to establish within the Department of the Interior the position of Assistant 
Secretary for Fish and Wildlife; to establish a United States Fish and Wild-
life Service; and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatwes 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may ^f^ ^/c^ ^igse'^ 
be cited as the "Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956". 
DECLARATION OF POOCY 
SEC. 2. The Congress hereby declares that the fish, shellfish, and 
wildlife resources of the Nation make a material contribution to our 
national economy and food supply, as well as a material contribution 
to the health, recreation, and well-being of our citizens; that such 
resources are a living, renewable form of national wealth that is capa-
ble of being maintained and greatly increased with proper manage-
ment, but equally capable of destruction if neglected or unwisely 
exploited; that such resources afford outdoor recreation throughout 
the Nation and provide employment, directly or indirectly, to a sub-
stantial number of citizens; that the fishing industries strengthen the 
defense of the United States through the provision of a trained sea-
faring citizenry and action-ready fleets of seaworthy vessels; that the 
training and sport afforded by fish and wildlife resources strengthen 
the national defense by contributing to the general health and physical 
fitness of millions of citizens; and that properly developed, such fish 
and wildlife resources are capable of steadily increasing these valu-
able contributions to the life of the Nation. 
The Congress further declares that the fishing industry, in its several 
branches, can prosper and thus fulfill its proper function in national 
life only if certain fundamental needs are satisfied by means that are 
consistent with the public interest and in accord with constitutional 
functions of governments. Among these needs are: 
(1) Freedom of enterprise—freedom to develop new areas, methods, 
products, and markets in accordance with sound economic principles, 
as well as freedom from unnecessary administrative or legal restric-
tions that unreasonably conflict with or ignore economic needs; 
(2) Protection of opportunity—maintenance of an economic atmos-
phere in which domestic production and processing can prosper; pro-
tection from subsidized competing products; protection of opportunity 
to fish on the high seas in accordance with international law; 
(3) Assistance—assistance consistent with that provided by the 
Government for industry generally, such as is involved in promoting 
good industrial relations, fair trade standards, harmonious labor re-
lations, better health standards and sanitation; and including, but 
not limited to— 
(a) services to provide current information on production and 
trade, market promotion and development, and an extension 
service, 
(b) research services for economic and technologic development 
and resource conservation, and 
(c) resource management to assure the maximum sustainable 
production for the fisheries. 
The Congress further declares that the provisions of this Act are 
necessary in order to accomplish the objective of proper resource 
development, and that this Act shall be administered with due regard 
to the inherent right of every citizen and resident of the United States 
1120 
PUBLIC LAW 1024-AUG. 8, 1956 
[70 STAT. 
to engage in fishing for his own pleasure, enjoyment, and betterment, 
and with the intent of maintaining and increasing the public oppor-
tunities for recreational use of our fish and wildlife resources, and 
stimulating the development of a strong, prosperous, and thriving 
fishery and fish processing industry. 
Assistant 
S e c * 
r e t a r y f o r 
Fish 
and Wildlife; Com-
missioner of Fish 
and Wildlife. 
U. S. F i s h and 
Wildlife service. 
Dl s t r i b u t i o n of 
duties, etc. 
A d m i n i strative 
procedures. 
REORGANIZATION W I T H I N T H E DEPART3IENT OF T H E 
INTERIOR 
SEC. 3. (a) There is hereby established within the Department of the 
Interior the position of Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife, and 
the position of Commissioner of Fish and Wildlife. 
Such Assistant 
Secretary shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice 
and consent of the Senate, and shall be compensated at the same rate 
as other Assistant Secretaries. 
The Commissioner shall be appointed 
by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. 
He shall receive compensation at the same rate as that provided for 
Grade GS-18. 
There is also established a United States Fish and 
Wildlife Service within the Department, consisting of two separate 
agencies, each of which shall have the status of a Federal bureau. 
There shall be a Director of each of said Bureaus appointed by the 
Secretary at Grades GS-17 each. 
One of the agencies shall be known 
as the "Bureau of Commercial Fisheries" and the other agency shall 
be known as the "Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife". 
The 
United States Fish and Wildlife Service, except as prescribed by this 
Act, shall succeed to and replace the presently existing Fish and Wild-
life Service of the Department. 
(b) The functions of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service 
hereby established shall be administered under the supervision of the 
said Commissioner of Fish and Wildlife, who shall be subject to the 
supervision of the Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife. 
(c) All functions and responsibilities placed in the Department of 
the Interior or any official thereof by this Act shall be included among 
the functions and responsibilities of the Secretary of the Interior, as 
the head of the Department, and shall be carried out under his direc-
tion pursuant to such procedures or delegations of authority as he 
may deem advisable and in the public interest. 
(d) In order to make a proper distribution between the two Bureaus 
of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service established by this Act, 
the previously existing functions, powers, duties, authority, liabilities, 
commitments, personnel, records, and other properties or matters pre-
viously handled by or administered through the former Fish and 
Wildlife Service of the Department, shall be distributed as follows: 
(1) The Bureau of Commercial Fisheries shall be responsible for 
those matters to which this Act applies relating primarily to commer-
cial fisheries, whales, seals, and sea-lions, and related iriatters; 
(2) The Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife shall be responsi-
ble for those matters to which this Act applies relating primarily to 
migratory birds, game management, wildlife refuges, sport fisheries, 
sea mammals (except whales, seals and sea-lions), and related matters; 
and the funds and allocations, appropriated or otherwise, relating to 
the matters covered by paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection shall 
be distributed between such Bureaus as the Secretary of the Interior 
shall determine. 
(e) Except as changed by the terms of this Act or by subsequent 
laws or regulations, all laws and regulations now in effect relating to 
matters heretofore administered by the Department of the Interior 
through the former Fish and Wildlife Service as heretofore existing, 
shall remain in effect. 
(f) In recognition of the need for authority to execute the purposes 
of this Act effectively, the Secretary of the Interior shall exercise such 
70 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 1024-AUG. 8, 1956 
1121 
general administrative authority consistently with the terms of this 
Act as he shall find to be necessary to carry out the provisions of this 
Act effectively and in the public interest. In order to allow sufficient 
nouce in *FRV°'* *
*
' 
time to place the reorganizations under this Act into effect, the Secre-
tary is authorized to establish an effective procedure and date of such 
reorganizations, notice of which shall be published in the Federal 
Register. Such reorganization shall be accomplished as soon as prac-
ticable after the approval of this Act, but not later than ninety (90) 
calendar days after such approval. 
LOAN PROCEDURES 
SEC. 4. (a) The Secretary is authorized under rules and regulations 
and under terms and conditions prescribed by him, to make loans for 
financing and refinancing of operations, maintenance, replacement, 
repair, and equipment of fishing gear and vessels, and for research into 
the basic problems of fisheries. 
(b) Any loans made under the provisions of this section shall be 
subject to the following restrictions: 
(1) Bear an interest rate of not less than 3 per centum per annum; 
(2) Mature in not more than ten years; 
(3) No financial assistance shall be extended pursuant to this sec-
tion unless reasonable financial assistance applied for is not otherwise 
available on reasonable terms. 
(c) There is hereby created a fisheries loan fund, which shall be 
used by the Secretary as a revolving fund to make loans for financing 
and ](vfinancing under this section. Any funds received by the Secre-
tary nn or before June 30, 1965, in payment of principal or interest 
on any loans so made, shall be deposited in the fund and be available 
for making additional loans under this section. Any funds so received 
after June 30, 1965, and any balance remaining in the fund at the 
close of June 30, 1965 (at which time the fund shall cease to exist), 
shall be covered into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts. 
There 
are hereby authorized to be appropriated to the fund the sum of 
$10,000,000 to provide initial capital. 
(d) The Secretary, subject to the specific limitations in this section, 
may consent to the modification, with respect to the rate of interest, 
time of payment of any installment of principal, or security, of any 
loan contract to which he is a party. 
INVESTIGATIONS, INFORMATION, REPORTS 
SEC. 5. (a) The Secretary shall conduct continuing investigations, 
prepare and disseminate information, and make periodical reports to 
the public, tg the President, and to Congress, with respect to the fol-
lowing matters: 
(1) The production and fiow to market of fish and fishery products 
domestically produced, and also those produced by foreign producers 
which affect the domestic fisheries; 
(2) The availability and abundance and the biological requirements 
of the fish and wildlife resources; 
(3) The competitive economic position of the various fish and fish-
ery products with respect to each other, and with respect to competi-
tive domestic and foreign-produced commodities; 
(4) The collection and dissemination of statistics on commercial 
and sport fishing; 
(5) The collection and dissemination of statistics on the nature and 
availability of wildlife, progress in acquisition of additional refuges 
and measures being taken to foster a coordinated program to encour-
age and develop wildlife values; 
69225 O - 57 - 75 ( V o l . 70) 
1122 
PUBUC LAW 1024-AUG. 8, 1956 
[70 STAT. 
(6) The improvement of production and marketing practices in 
regard to commercial'species and the conduct of educational and exten-
sion services relative to commercial and sport fishing, and wildlife 
matters; 
(7) Any other matters which in the judgment of the Secretary are 
of public interest in connection with any phases of fish and wildlife 
operations. 
TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS 
ASSISTANCE OF OTHER AGENCIES 
SEC. 6. (a) There shall be transferred to the Secretary all func-
tions of the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, and 
the head of any other department or agency, as determined by the 
Director of the Bureau of the Budget to relate primarily to the devel-
opment, advancement, management, conservation, and protection of 
commercial fisheries; but nothing in this section shall be construed 
to modify the authority of the Department of State or the Secretary 
of State to negotiate or enter into any international agreements, or 
conventions with respect to the development, management, or protec-
tion of any fisheries and wildlife resources or with respect to interna-
tional commissions operating under conventions to which the United 
States is a party. 
(b) There shall be transferred to the Department of the Interior so 
much of the personnel, property, facilities, records, and unexpended 
balances of appropriations, allocations, and other funds (available or 
to be made available) as the Director of the Bureau of the Budget 
determines to be necessary in connection with the exercise of any func-
tions transferred to the Secretary pursuant to subsection (a) of this 
section. 
(c) The Secretary may request and secure the advice or assistance of 
any department or agency of the Government in carrying out the pro-
visions of this Act, and any such department or agency which fur-
nishes advice or assistance to the Secretary may expend its own funds 
for such purposes, with or without reimbursement from the Secretary 
as may be agreed upon between the Secretary and the department or 
agency. 
POLICIES, PROCEDURES, RECOMMENDATIONS 
SEC. 7. (a) The Secretary of the Interior, with such advice and 
assistance as he may require from the Assistant Secretary for Fish and 
Wildlife, shall consider and determine the policies and procedures that 
are necessary and desirable in carrying out efficiently and in the public 
interest the laws relating to fish and wildlife. 
The Secretary, with the 
assistance of the departmental staff herein authorized, shall— 
(1) develop and recommend measures which are appropriate 
to assure the maximum sustainable production of fish and fishery 
products and to prevent unnecessary and excessive 
fluctuations 
in such production; 
(2) study the economic condition of the industry, and when-
ever he determines that any segment of the domestic fisheries has 
been seriously disturbed either by wide fluctuation in the abun-
dance of the resource supporting it, or by unstable market or fish-
ing conditions or due to an^^ other factors he shall make such 
recommendations to the President and the Congress as he deems 
, appropriate to aid in stabilizing the domestic fisheries; 
(3) develop and recommend special promotional and informa-
tional activities with a view to stimulating the consumption of 
fishery products whenever he determines that there is a prospec-
: 
tive or actual surplus of such products; 
70 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 1024-AUG. 8, 1956 
112a 
(4) take such steps as may be required for the development, 
advancement, management, conservation, and protection of the 
fisheries resources; and 
(5) take such steps as may be required for the development, 
management, advancement, conservation, and protection of wild-
life resources through research, acquisition of refuge lands, devel-
opment of existing facilities, and other means. 
STATE DEPARTMENT 
COOPERATION 
SEC. 8. (a) The Secretary shall cooperate to the fullest practicable 
extent with the Secretary of State in providing representation at all 
meetings and conferences relating to fish and wildlife in which repre-
sentatives of the United States and foreign countries participate. 
The Secretary of State shall designate the Secretary of the Interior 
or the Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife, or a person desig-
nated by the Secretary of the Interior to represent the Department of 
the Interior, as a member of the United States delegation attending 
such meetings and conferences and also as a member of the negotiating 
team of any such delegation. 
(b) The Secretary of State and all oth^r officials having responsi-
bilities in the fields of technical and economic aid to foreign nations 
shall consult with the Secretary in all cases in which the interests of 
fish and wildlife are involved, with a view to assuring that such inter-
ests are adequately represented at all times. 
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary 
shall be represented in all international negotiations conducted by the 
United States pursuant to section 350 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
*| sm. 943. 
amended, in any case in which fish products are directly affected by 
such negotiations. 
(d) The Secretary shall consult periodically with the various gov-
ernmental, private nonprofit, and other organizations and agencies 
which have to do with any phase of fish and wildlife with respect to 
any problems that may arise in connection with such fish and wildlife. 
REPORTS ON ACTIVITIES AND IMPORTS 
SEC. 9. (a) The Secretary of the Interior shall make an annual grfssf"'* tocon-
report to the Congress with respect to activities of the United States 
Fish and Wildlife Service under this Act, and shall make such recom-
mendations for additional legislation as he deems necessary. 
(b) The Secretary is authorized to make a report to the President 
and the Congress, and, when requested by the United States Tariff 
Commission in connection with section 7 of the Trade Agreements 
Extension Act of 1951, as amended (67 Stat. 72, 74), or when an 
f§ us'c 7
3
^
6
4 
investigation is made under the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U. S. C. 1332), 
" c 
. 
the Secretary is authorized to make a report to such Commission, con-
cerning the following matters with respect to any fishery product 
which is imported into the United States, or such reports may be 
made upon a request from any segment of the domestic industry 
producing a like or directly competitive product— 
(1) whether there has been a downward trend in the production, 
employment in the production, or prices, or a decline in the sales, 
of the like or directly competitive product by the domestic indus-
try ; and 
(2) whether there has been an increase in the imports of the 
fishery products into the United States, either actual or relative 
to the production of the like or directly competitive product pro-
duced by the domestic industry. 
67 Stat. 29. 
1124 
PUBLIC LAW 1025-AUG. 8, 1956 
[70 STAT. 
•MH,.Tfi: 
f! 
^ 
THE RIGHTS OF STATES 
SEC. 10. Nothing in this Act shall be construed (1) to interfere in 
any manner with the rights of any State under the Submerged Lands 
Act (Public Law 31, Eighty-third Congress) or otherwise provided 
by law, or to supersede any regulatory authority over fisheries exer-
cised by the States either individually or under interstate compacts; 
or (2) to interfere in any manner with the authority exercised by any 
International Commission established under any treaty or convention 
to which the United States is a party. 
AUTHORIZATION FOR APPROPRIATION 
SEC. 11. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums 
as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. 
SEC. 12. (a) The authorization for the transfer of certain funds from 
the Secretary of Agriculture to the Secretary of the Interior and their 
maintenance in a separate fund as contained in section 2 (a) of the 
15 use 713C-3. Act of August 11,1939, as amended July 1,1954 (68 Stat. 376), sh^U 
be continued for the year ending June 30, 1957, and each year there-
after. 
(b) Subsection (e) of section 2 of the aforesaid Act of August 11, 
1939, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: 
"(e) The separate fund created for the use of the Secretary of the 
Interior under section 2 (a) of this Act and the annual accruals thereto 
shall be available for each year hereafter imtil expended by the Secre-
tary." 
Approved August 8, 1956. 
Public Law 1025 
CHAPTER 1037 
A 
» « .Q.;« 
AN ACT 
August 8, 1956 
[H. R. 11911] 
rpo authorize negotiations with respect to a compact to provide for a definition 
or relocation of the common boundary between Arizona and California, and 
for the appointment by the President of a Federal representative to the 
compact negotiations. 
Arizona-Call 
fomia b o u n d a r y 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatwes 
of the 
United States of America in Congress a^senibled^ That the consent 
coin>act. 
' of Congress is hereby given to the States of Arizona and California to 
gresr.'"" ° 
°"' negotiate and enter into a compact with respect to the definition or 
relocation of the common boundary of said States. 
SEC. 2. Such consent is given upon the following conditions: 
(1) A representative of the United States, not a resident of either 
Arizona or California, shall be appointed by the President of the 
United States; such representative shall participate in such negotia-
tions and shall make a report to the President and to the Congress of 
the proceedings and of any compact entered into; and 
(2) Such compact shall not be binding or obligatory upon either 
of such States unless and until it has been ratified by the legislature 
of each of such State and consented to by the Congress of the United 
States. 
SEC. 3. The right to alter, amend, or repeal this Act is hereby 
expressly reserved. 
Approved August 8, 1956.