United States Fish Commission

Last updated

United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries
  • Commission of Fish and Fisheries (1871–1903)
  • Bureau of Fisheries (1903–1940)
Flag of the United States Bureau of Fisheries.svg
Flag of the United States Bureau of Fisheries
Agency overview
FormedFebruary 9, 1871;153 years ago (1871-02-09)
DissolvedJune 30, 1940;84 years ago (1940-06-30)
Superseding agency
Jurisdiction United States federal government
Parent agency

The United States Fish Commission, [1] formally known as the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries, was an agency of the United States government created in 1871 to investigate, promote, and preserve the fisheries of the United States. In 1903, it was reorganized as the United States Bureau of Fisheries, sometimes referred to as the United States Fisheries Service, which operated until 1940. In 1940, the Bureau of Fisheries was abolished when its personnel and facilities became part of the newly created Fish and Wildlife Service, under the United States Department of the Interior.

Contents

Organizational history

U.S. Fish Commission (1871–1903)

By the 1860s, increasing human pressure on the fish and game resources of the United States had become apparent to the United States Government, [2] and fisheries became the first aspect of the problem to receive U.S. Government attention when Robert Barnwell Roosevelt, a Democratic congressmen from New York 's 4th Congressional District, originated a bill in the United States House of Representatives to create the U.S. Fish Commission. It was established by a joint resolution (16 Stat. 593) of the United States Congress on February 9, 1871, [3] as an independent agency of the U.S. Government with a mandate to investigate the causes for the decrease of commercial fish and other aquatic animals in the coastal and inland waters of the United States, to recommend remedies to the U.S. Congress and the states, and to oversee restoration efforts. [4] With a budget of US$5,000, it began operations in 1871, organized to engage in scientific, statistical, and economic investigations of U.S. fisheries to study the "decrease of the food fishes of the seacoasts and to suggest remedial measures." [4]

An expansion of the Fish Commission's mission followed quickly, when insistence by the American Fish Culturalist Association spurred the Congress in 1872 to add fish culture to the Fish Commission's responsibilities, with an appropriation of US$15,000 to establish fish hatcheries for the propagation of food fishes along the seacoasts and in the lakes of the United States. [4] Following this change, the commission was organized into three divisions: the Division of Inquiry respecting Food-Fishes and Fishing Grounds, the Division of Fisheries, and the Division of Fish-Culture. [5] The commission was led first by Spencer F. Baird, [1] then George Brown Goode, Marshall McDonald, John J. Brice, and finally George M. Bowers.

U.S. Bureau of Fisheries (1903–1940)

By an Act of Congress of February 14, 1903, the U.S. Fish Commission became part of the newly created United States Department of Commerce and Labor and was reorganized as the United States Bureau of Fisheries, with both the transfer and the name change effective on July 1, 1903. [4] [6] In 1913, the Department of Commerce and Labor was divided into the United States Department of Commerce and the United States Department of Labor, and the Bureau of Fisheries became part of the new Department of Commerce. [4] [7] Bowers led the Bureau of Fisheries, followed by Hugh McCormick Smith, Henry O'Malley, and finally Frank T. Bell.

In 1939, the Bureau of Fisheries was transferred to the United States Department of the Interior, [4] [8] [9] and on June 30, 1940, it merged with the Interior Department's Bureau of Biological Survey to form the new Fish and Wildlife Service, an element of the Interior Department. [8] [10]

Successor organizations

In 1956, the Fish and Wildlife Service was reorganized as the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and divided its operations into two bureaus, the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife and the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, with the latter inheriting the history and heritage of the old U.S. Fish Commission and U.S. Bureau of Fisheries. [11] [12] Upon the formation of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) within the Department of Commerce on October 3, 1970, the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries merged with the saltwater laboratories of the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife to form today's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), an element of NOAA, [13] and the former Bureau of Commercial Fisheries' research ships were resubordinated to the NMFS. During 1972 and 1973, these ships were integrated with those of other parts of NOAA to form the unified NOAA fleet. The NMFS is considered the modern-day successor to the U.S. Fish Commission and U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, and the NOAA fleet of today also traces its history in part to them.

Activities

The U.S. Fish Commission and U.S. Bureau of Fisheries carried out extensive investigations of the fishes, shellfish, marine mammals, and other life in the rivers, lakes, and marine waters of the United States and its territories, and its scientists corresponded widely with marine researchers around the world. The two agencies also scrutinized fishing technologies and designed, built, and operated hatcheries for a wide variety of finfish and shellfish. In the early 1900s the Bureau of Fisheries took on the responsibility for the enforcement of fishery and sealing regulations in Alaska, as well as for managing the harvest of fur-brearing animals in the Pribilof Islands and supporting the welfare of the Aleut communities of the Pribilofs. Both the Fish Commission and the Bureau of Fisheries operated a fleet of ships and boats for research, law enforcement, and transportation purposes.

Research and publications

From 1871 to 1903, the commission's Annual Report to Congress detailed its efforts and findings in all of these areas. [14] In 1880, it began to collect, analyze, and publish fishery statistics. [15] From 1881 to 1903, the commission also published an annual Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission summarizing the commission's Annual Report to Congress and correspondence; [16] the bulletins included detailed catch reports from fishermen and commercial fishing port agents around the United States and Canada, reports and letters from naturalists and fish researchers around the United States and in other countries, and descriptions of the commission's exploratory cruises and fish hatchery efforts. Beginning in 1884, the Commission published the seminal work The Fisheries and Fisheries Industries of the United States. [17] The commission's research stations and surveys collected significant data on U.S. fish and fishing grounds, with considerable material going to the Smithsonian Institution. [1]

The Bureau of Fisheries carried on the Fish Commission's research work, its scientists and researchers pioneering such concepts as fisheries oceanography [18] and fishery products utilization research [19] and publishing a wide variety of research results in the Bureau's Fisheries Service Bulletin—published monthly from June 1915 [20] [21] until December 1940 [21] —as well as a Bulletin of the Bureau of Fisheries series, an Investigational Reports of the Bureau of Fisheries series, an Administrative Reports series, Economic Circulars, Fishery Circulars, an annual Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries published from 1931 to 1939, and other documents. [22] In 1937, the Bureau organized the Fishery Market News Service, which supported the U.S. commercial fishing industry by collecting and circulating information from widely scattered fisheries centers around the United States on fishery production, receipts, supply and demand, market prices, cold storage holdings, and imports and exports. [15]

Four ships were built for the Fish Commission, including the 157-foot-long (47.9 m) schooner-rigged steamer USFC Fish Hawk, which served as a floating fish hatchery and fisheries research ship from 1880 to 1926; the 234-foot-long (71.3 m) brigantine-rigged steamer USFC Albatross, which operated as a fisheries research ship from 1882 to 1921 except for brief periods of United States Navy service in 1898 and from 1917 to 1919; [23] and the 90-foot-long (27.4 m) sailing schooner USFC Grampus, which was commissioned in 1886 and operated as a fisheries research ship until 1917. The Bureau of Fisheries inherited these ships in 1903 and continued to operate a research fleet for a time, but it decommissioned its last true seagoing research ship, USFS Albatross II, in 1932, and when the Fish and Wildlife Service was created in 1940, it inherited no research vessels from the Bureau of Fisheries. [24] The U.S. Government did not operate another fisheries research vessel until the Fish and Wildlife Service commissioned US FWS Albatross III in 1948. [24]

National Fish Hatchery System

When Congress expanded its mission to include fish culture in 1872, the Fish Commission laid the foundation for the National Fish Hatchery System, opening its first fish hatchery the same year. The Bureau of Fisheries and Fish and Wildlife Service carried on the fish hatchery program the Fish Commission began, and many of the fish hatcheries constructed by the Fish Commission before 1900 were among the 100 national hatcheries operating in 1960. [25] The Edenton Station hatchery, established in 1899, is na example of a hatchery constructed by the Fish Commission prior to 1900. [26]

To supplement the hatcheries, the Fish Commission commissioned the steamer USFC Fish Hawk in 1880. [27] Purpose-built as a floating fish hatchery, she was intended to follow the seasonal runs of American shad up and down the coast of the United States, in addition to carrying out fisheries research duties. [27] She operated until 1926. [27]

Fishery regulation and enforcement

Alaska

After the United States purchased Russian America from the Russian Empire in 1867 and created the Department of Alaska (which became the District of Alaska in 1884 and the Territory of Alaska in 1912), enforcement of whatever regulations to protect fisheries and marine mammals that existed in Alaska fell to the revenue cutters of the United States Revenue-Marine, which in 1894 became the United States Revenue Cutter Service and was one of the ancestor organizations of the United States Coast Guard. [28] By order of the United States Secretary of Commerce and Labor on February 15, 1905, the Bureau of Fisheries received the responsibility for administering and enforcing laws protecting the Alaskan salmon fishery. [4] [29] On June 14, 1906, the U.S. Congress passed the Alien Fisheries Act to protect and regulate fisheries in Alaska by placing restrictions on the use of fishing tackle and on cannery operations there and authorizing the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries to enforce these regulations as well. [4] [28] In 1920, the Bureau's Alaska responsibilities expanded again, to include supervision of the conservation of marine mammals there, including sea otters, fur seals, and walruses. [4]

Upon receiving its law enforcement responsibilities in 1905–1906, the Bureau established regional districts throughout Alaska to organize fishery protection patrols along Alaska's 10,000 miles (16,000 km) of coastline, but had no vessels suitable for such patrols in Alaska, and during the next few years relied on vessels borrowed from other United States Government agencies (such as the Revenue Cutter Service), on chartered vessels, and on transportation that canneries offered for free to Bureau of Fisheries agents. [28] [29] This approach was not satisfactory for various reasons, such as the requirement for vessels of other government agencies to perform non-fishery-related functions, ethical concerns over accepting transportation from the canneries the Bureau of Fisheries agents were supposed to regulate, and the difficulty of enforcing regulations when the local fishing and canning industry personnel warned one another of the approach of Bureau of Fisheries agents who had accepted transportation on cannery vessels. [28] Each year after the 1906 passage of the Alien Fisheries Act, the Bureau of Fisheries requested more personnel and vessels with which to fulfill its regulatory and law enforcement responsibilities. [28] By 1911, when the Alaska fishing industry reached an annual value of nearly US$17 million, [30] it had become clear that the United States Government needed to make radical changes in how it enforced the provisions of the Alien Fisheries Act, including funding the acquisition of a fleet of dedicated fishery patrol vessels under the Bureau of Fisheries. [28]

In 1912, the Bureau purchased the former cannery tender SS Wigwam to serve as its first fishery patrol vessel; renamed USFS Osprey [28] [30] —beginning a custom of naming the boats after birds common in Alaska [28] —she was commissioned in 1913 [30] and quickly added the protection of fur seal and sea otter populations to her responsibilities. [30] The Bureau's first two purpose-built patrol vessels, USFS Auklet and USFS Murre, joined her in 1917. [31] The Alaska enforcement fleet increased further in 1919 with four former United States Navy patrol vessels (USFS Kittiwake, USFS Merganser, USFS Petrel, and USFS Widgeon) transferred to the Bureau's Alaska fleet, [32] [33] [34] and in 1925 the Bureau established a district headquarters at the Naknek River for the Bristol Bay district and began to acquire a flotilla of motor launches to operate on the rivers, steams, and lakes in that area. [28] The Bureau also chartered vessels to support Alaska fisheries protection, [28] and Bureau patrol boats regularly protected migrating fur seal herds along the coast of Washington and Alaska. [28] On October 25, 1928, several Bureau of Fisheries vessels were tasked to join U.S. Navy vessels in enforcing the provisions of the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1924 in the Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean, with their crews granted all powers of search and seizure in accordance with the act to protect populations of Pacific halibut. [28] By 1930 the Bureau had nearly 20 boats patrolling in Alaskan waters. [28] In 1933, it began to add speedboats to its Alaskan patrol inventory. [28]

In 1918, the Bureau of Fisheries augmented its fishery enforcement effort with a force of "steam watchmen," temporary employees who worked two to five months a year and kept a particular area under continuous observation; they also occasionally maintained lights and protected free-floating fish traps from drift. [35] The stream watchmen sometimes provided their own motorboats. [35] From an initial force of 10 men in 1918, the stream watchman force—which operated in both Southeast and Southcentral Alaska—grew to 59 men in 1922 and 220 in 1931. [35] In addition to stream watchmen, the Bureau also employed special wardens and operators of chartered boats to enforce fishery regulations. [35]

The Bureau of Fisheries also began to use aircraft for fishery patrols in 1929, chartering a seaplane from Alaska-Washington Airways to experiment with aerial patrols over Alaskan waters. [36] The aerial patrols were successful, and regular aerial patrols by Bureau of Fisheries agents using chartered aircraft began in 1930. [36] The patrols focused on Southeast Alaska, [36] and by 1939 logged an annual total of 6,859 miles (11,038 km) in 64 hours of flying. [36]

The fishery enforcement vessels and aircraft also provided transportation to Bureau of Fisheries personnel and assisted in the Bureau's scientific activities in Alaska. [28] [36] In 1940, the Fish and Wildlife Service took over the fleet of patrol boats and the aerial patrol mission, and continued fishery enforcement operations, including the use of stream watchmen, wardens, and chartered boat operators. When Alaska became a state on January 3, 1959, it began to assume the responsibility for fishery protection in its waters like any other U.S. state. [28] [36] The Fish and Wildlife Service's role in fishery enforcement in Alaska came to an end on December 31, 1959; [37] on January 1, 1960, the State of Alaska assumed full responsibility for fishery protection in its waters. [29] The Fish and Wildlife Service transferred many of its patrol boats to the State of Alaska and refocused its resources on its scientific mission. [28]

Elsewhere

In 1906, the Bureau of Fisheries became responsible for the enforcement of a law intended to regulate the taking of sponges in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coasts of Florida. [4] It added the enforcement of a law governing the interstate transportation of black bass in 1930. [4] Under the Fishery Cooperative Marketing Act of June 4, 1935—an act of Congress authorizing cooperative associations of producers of aquatic products [4] —the Bureau became responsible for administering the act, maintaining contact with fishery cooperatives, and advising the cooperatives. [4] In 1936 it became responsible for certain functions related to the Whaling Treaty Act. [4]

Pribilof Islands and Pribilof tenders

Fur seals in a rookery in the Pribilof Islands in the 1950s. Fur seals in rookery Pribilof Islands 1950s.PNG
Fur seals in a rookery in the Pribilof Islands in the 1950s.

On April 21, 1910, the United States Congress assigned the responsibility for the management and harvest of northern fur seals, foxes, and other fur-bearing animals in the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea, [4] [38] as well as for the care, education, and welfare of the Aleut communities in the islands, to the Bureau of Fisheries. [38] Under the protection and management first of the Bureau of Fisheries and later of the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Pribilof fur seal herd grew from 150,000 animals in 1911 to 1,500,000 in 1960. [37]

To support the local Aleut community, the Bureau initially chartered commercial vessels to transport passengers and cargo to, from, and between the Pribilofs, [38] but by 1915 it had decided that a more cost-effective means of serving the islands would be to own and operate its own "Pribilof tender," [38] a dedicated cargo liner responsible for transportation to, from, and between the islands. [38] Its first Pribilof tender, SS Roosevelt, operated from 1917 to 1919; [39] she was followed by MV Eider from 1919 to 1930, [40] and MV Penguin, which began operations in 1930. [41]

Flag of the United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries Flag of the United States Commissioner of Fisheries.svg
Flag of the United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries

The operation of "Pribilof tenders" continued under the Bureau of Fisheries' successor organizations, with the Fish and Wildlife Service employing MV Penguin on this service until 1950, [41] followed by MV Penguin II from 1950 to 1963, [42] MV Dennis Winn, which supplemented Penguin II's service during the 1950s, [43] and MV Pribilof, which entered service in 1963 and continued to serve the Pribilofs after the creation of the NMFS in 1970. [44] The 58-year history of the "Pribilof tenders" did not come to a close until 1975, when the NMFS retired and sold Pribilof as part of a process of turning control of the local government and economy of the Pribilof Islands to their residents. [44]

U.S. Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries

The United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries oversaw the U.S. Fish Commission (1871–1903) and the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries (1903–1940). The following served as Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries:

No.PortraitNameTenureNotes
1 Portrait of Spencer Fullerton Baird - 1867.jpg Spencer Fullerton Baird (1823–1887)1871–1887 Naturalist, ornithologist, ichthyologist, herpetologist, and museum curator, and the first curator to be named at the Smithsonian Institution. The founding commissioner of the Fish Commission, he was highly active in developing fishing and fishery policies for the United States, and was instrumental in making Woods Hole a research venue for marine biology. Died in office.
2 Goode G Brown 1851-1896.jpg G. Brown Goode (1851–1896)1887–1888 Ichthyologist, museum administrator, and prolific writer who worked for the Fish Commission from 1872 to 1888. From 1873 to 1887 organized and administered the biological and fishery development research of the Fish Commission and ordered and developed the taxonomic and ichthyologic work of both the Fish Commission and the Smithsonian Institution. Left the Fish Commission in 1888 to become an assistant secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. [45]
3 Hon. Marshall McDonald.jpg Marshall McDonald (1835–1895)1888–1895 Engineer, geologist, mineralogist, fish culturist, and fisheries scientist. Inventor of the fish ladder and of a number of fish-hatching apparatuses. Worked for the Fish Commission from 1879 to 1895. Died in office.
– Herbert A. Gill 1895–1896The Fish Commission's chief clerk, Gill served as acting commissioner between the death of Marshall McDonald and the arrival of John J. Brice.
4 John J. Brice.PNG John J. Brice (1841–1912)1896–1898Retired United States Navy officer with a sound administrative ability and a keen interest in the propagation of salmon on the United States West Coast. [46] Reoriented the Fish Commission's priorities around the propagation of commercially important species. [47]
5 FMIB 44180 Hon Geo M Bowers, Present Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries (cropped).jpeg George M. Bowers (1863–1925)1898–1913 Banker and politician who later represented West Virginia's 2nd district in the United States House of Representatives from 1916 to 1923. [48]
6 HM Smith.jpg Hugh M. Smith (1865–1941)1913–1922 Physician, educator, ichthyologist, and writer who worked for the Fish Commission and Bureau of Fisheries from 1886 to 1922. Directed the Fish Commission's scientific research from 1897 to 1903 and was deputy commissioner of fish and fisheries from 1903 to 1913. After leaving the Bureau, served as the first director general of Thailand's Department of Fisheries, [49] then as curator of zoology at the Smithsonian Institution. [50]
7 Henry O'Malley 13 May 1922.PNG Henry O'Malley (1876–1936)1922–1933 Fish culturist employed by the Fish Commission and Bureau of Fisheries from 1897 to 1934. Noted for his leadership as commissioner in protecting the American fishing industry and fish spawning grounds, especially the rehabilitation of depleted fishery resources in the Columbia River and the Territory of Alaska, as well as Alaska's fur seal resources. [51]
8 Photo Frank T. Bell (1883–1970)1933–1939 Hotel and restaurant owner and operator who was politically active and an avid recreational fisherman and hunter with an interest in nature conservation. [52] Successful as commissioner in making the Bureau of Fisheries more efficient and in increasing cooperation on fishery issues among United States government agencies and between them and U.S. state governments. [53]
–Charles E. Jackson1939–1940Deputy Commissioner Jackson served as acting commissioner between the departure of Frank T. Bell and the abolition of the Bureau of Fisheries.
Sources: [54] [55] [56]

Fleet

The U.S. Fish Commission operated five ships. They used the prefix "USFC" while in commission. The Bureau of Fisheries inherited all five USFC ships, and its fleet expanded during the early 20th century. Its ships were given the prefix "USFS" while in commission, derived from an alternative name, "United States Fisheries Service," sometimes used for the Bureau. Although there were occasional exceptions (such as Grampus, Red Wing, and Roosevelt ), the Fish Commission and Bureau of Fisheries custom was to name vessels after aquatic birds.

The later organizational history of the fleet paralleled that of the history of the Bureau's successor organizations. In 1940, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) took over the Bureau of Fisheries fleet, and when the FWS was reorganized as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in 1956, its seagoing ships were assigned to the USFWS's new Bureau of Commercial Fisheries (BCF), which inherited the history and heritage of the Fish Commission and Bureau of Fisheries. When the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was created in 1970, its National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) was considered the successor to the BCF, and the NMFS took control of what had been the BCF's fleet. NMFS-controlled ships then were united with ships of other agencies to form a unified NOAA fleet via a phased process during 1972–1973. The Fish Commission and Bureau of Fisheries fleets therefore are among the ancestors of today's NOAA fleet.

A partial list of the ships of the U.S. Fish Commission (USFC) and U.S. Bureau of Fisheries (BOF):

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Fish and Wildlife Service</span> United States federal government agency

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is a U.S. federal government agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior which oversees the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats in the United States. The mission of the agency is "working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people."

USS <i>Edithena</i> Patrol vessel of the United States Navy

USS Edithena was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919 that saw service during World War I. Prior to her U.S. Navy service, she operated as the private motor yacht Edithena from 1914 to 1917. After the conclusion World War I, she served as the fishery patrol vessel USFS Widgeon in the fleet of the United States Bureau of Fisheries from 1919 to 1940 and as US FWS Widgeon in the fleet of the Fish and Wildlife Service from 1940 to 1942. During World War II, she returned to U.S. Navy service from 1942 to 1944 as the yard patrol boat USS YP-200. By 1947 she had returned to private ownership, first as Edithena and during the 1970s and 1980s as the fishing vessel Ila Mae.

USS <i>Raeo</i> Patrol vessel of the United States Navy

USS Raeo (SP-588) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919. Prior to her U.S. Navy service, she operated as the motor passenger vessel Raeo from 1908 to 1917. After the conclusion of her U.S. Navy career, she served as the fishery patrol vessel USFS Kittiwake in the United States Bureau of Fisheries fleet from 1919 to 1940 and as US FWS Kittiwake in the Fish and Wildlife Service fleet from 1940 to 1942 and from 1944 to at least 1945, and perhaps as late as 1948. During World War II, she again served in the U.S. Navy, this time as the yard patrol boat USS YP-199. She was the civilian fishing vessel Raeo from 1948 to 1957, then operated in various roles as Harbor Queen from 1957 to 1997. She became Entiat Princess in 1998 and as of 2009 was still in service.

USS <i>Calypso</i> (SP-632) Patrol vessel of the United States Navy

The second USS Calypso (SP-632) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919. She originally operated as the private motorboat Calypso from 1909 to 1917. After the conclusion of her U.S. Navy career, she served as the fishery patrol vessel in the United States Bureau of Fisheries fleet from 1919 to 1940 as USFS Merganser and in the Fish and Wildlife Service fleet as US FWS Merganser from 1940 to 1942.

US FWS <i>Pribilof</i> U.S. fisheries vessel

US FWS Pribilof was an American refrigerated cargo ship in commission in the fleet of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) from 1964 to 1970 and, as NOAAS Pribilof, in the fleet of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration′s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) from 1970 to 1975. She ran a cargo service between Seattle, Washington, and the Pribilof Islands – the last of the United States Government "Pribilof tenders" to carry out this function – and also made USFWS and NMFS research cruises in the Pribilofs.

US FWS Penguin II U.S. fisheries vessel

US FWS Penguin II was an American refrigerated cargo ship in commission in the fleet of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service from 1950 to 1963. She ran a cargo service between Seattle, Washington, and the Pribilof Islands, and also delivered provisions to Aleut communities on the Alaska Peninsula and in the Aleutian Islands. Prior to her fisheries service, she was the United States Army cargo ship U.S. Army Lt. Raymond Zussman (FS-246).

USFS <i>Penguin</i> U.S. fisheries vessel

USFS Penguin was an American cargo liner in commission in the fleet of the United States Bureau of Fisheries from 1930 to 1940 and, as US FWS Penguin, in the fleet of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from 1940 to 1950. She ran a passenger-cargo service between Seattle, Washington, and the Pribilof Islands, and provided transportation between the two inhabited Pribilofs, Saint Paul Island and St. George Island. She also carried passengers, supplies, and provisions to destinations on the mainland of the Territory of Alaska and in the Aleutian Islands. She occasionally supported research activities in Alaskan waters and the North Pacific Ocean.

USFS <i>Eider</i> Ship of the United States Bureau of Fisheries

USFS Eider was an American motor schooner in commission in the fleet of the United States Bureau of Fisheries from 1919 to 1940 and, as US FWS Eider, in the fleet of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from 1940 to 1942 and again in the late 1940s. She ran a passenger-cargo service between Unalaska and the Pribilof Islands, and also carried passengers, supplies, and provisions to destinations on the mainland of the Territory of Alaska and in the Aleutian Islands. She occasionally supported research activities in Alaskan waters and the North Pacific Ocean, and she conducted patrols to protect Alaskan fisheries and marine mammals. In 1924, she provided logistical support to the first aerial circumnavigation of the world.

US FWS Dennis Winn American fisheries vessel

US FWS Dennis Winn was an American cargo liner in commission in the fleet of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service from 1948 to 1960. She frequently provided a passenger and cargo service to and from the Pribilof Islands, and also carried passengers and cargo to and between other communities and FWS stations in the Territory of Alaska. Prior to her fisheries service, she was the United States Army cargo ship U.S. Army Lt. Walter J. Will (FS-244).

MV <i>Brown Bear</i> American research vessel

MV Brown Bear was an American research vessel in commission in the fleet of the United States Department of Agriculture′s Bureau of Biological Survey and Alaska Game Commission from 1934 to 1940 and in the fleet of the United States Department of the Interior′s Fish and Wildlife Service from 1940 to 1942 and from 1946 to 1951, under the control of the University of Washington from 1952 to 1965, and in commission in the fleet of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service from 1965 to 1970 and of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration′s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) from 1970 to 1972.

USFS <i>Auklet</i> American fishery patrol vessel

USFS Auklet was an American fishery patrol vessel that served in the waters of Southeast Alaska. She was in commission in the United States Bureau of Fisheries from 1917 to 1940 and in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as US FWS Auklet from 1940 to 1950.

USFS <i>Murre</i> American fishery patrol vessel

USFS Murre was an American fishery patrol vessel that served in the waters of Southeast Alaska. She was in commission in the United States Bureau of Fisheries fleet from 1917 to 1940 and, as US FWS Murre in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fleet from 1940 to 1942. Murre and her sister ship USFS Auklet were the first vessels ever constructed for fisheries enforcement duties in Alaska.

USFS <i>Osprey</i> American steamer

USFS Osprey was an American steamer that served as a fishery patrol vessel in the waters of the Territory of Alaska. She was in commission in the United States Bureau of Fisheries (BOF) from 1913 to 1921, and was the first vessel the BOF ever operated on fishery patrols in Alaska. Before the BOF purchased her, she was the commercial cannery tender Wigwam from 1895 to 1912. After her BOF career ended, she operated as a commercial motor tug with the name Foss No. 19 from 1922 to 1965 and with the name Kiowa from 1965 until she sank in 1978.

USFS <i>Crane</i> American fishery patrol vessel built in 1928

USFS Crane was an American fishery patrol vessel that operated in the waters of the Territory of Alaska. She was in commission in the United States Bureau of Fisheries (BOF) fleet from 1928 to 1940. She then served as US FWS Crane in the fleet of the Fish and Wildlife Service from 1940 to 1960. After a brief stint in the fleet of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game during 1960, she was sold into private service, at various times named Crane, Brapo, Fishing 5, Belle, and Patricia during the 1960s and 1970s and then again Crane since 1978. She remained in service as of 2020.

USFS <i>Teal</i> U.S. fishery patrol vessel

USFS Teal was an American fishery patrol vessel that operated in the waters of the Territory of Alaska. She was part of the fleet of the United States Bureau of Fisheries (BOF) from 1928 to 1940. She then served as US FWS Teal in the fleet of the Fish and Wildlife Service from 1940 to 1960. After a stint in the fleet of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game from 1960 to 1966, she was sold into private service, and remained in operation as of 2016.

USFS <i>Scoter</i> U.S. fishery patrol vessel

USFS Scoter was an American fishery patrol vessel that operated in the waters of the Territory of Alaska. She was part of the United States Bureau of Fisheries (BOF) fleet from 1922 to 1940. She then served as US FWS Scoter in the fleet of the Fish and Wildlife Service from 1940 to 1950. Before her United States Government service, she was the commercial purse seiner Clatsop. She returned to that name and to private ownership after the conclusion of her U.S. Government career.

USFS <i>Blue Wing</i> American fishery patrol vessel

USFS Blue Wing was an American fishery patrol vessel that operated in the waters of the Territory of Alaska. She was part of the United States Bureau of Fisheries (BOF) fleet from 1924 to 1940. She then served as US FWS Blue Wing in the fleet of the Fish and Wildlife Service from 1940 until at least 1951. Before her United States Government service, she was the commercial purse seiner August. In private ownership after the conclusion of her U.S. Government career she was renamed El Don.

USFS <i>Red Wing</i> U.S. fishery patrol vessel

USFS Red Wing was an American fishery patrol vessel that operated in the waters of the Territory of Alaska as part of the United States Bureau of Fisheries (BOF) fleet from 1928 to 1939. Before her fishery service, she operated under the control of the United States Department of Agriculture.

USFS <i>Brant</i> American fishery patrol vessel

USFS Brant was an American fishery patrol vessel that operated in the waters of the Territory of Alaska and off Washington, California, and Mexico. She was part of the United States Bureau of Fisheries (BOF) fleet from 1926 to 1940. She then served as US FWS Brant in the fleet of the Fish and Wildlife Service from 1940 to 1953. She then operated commercially until she sank in 1960.

USFS <i>Pelican</i> U.S. fisheries vessel

USFS Pelican was an American fisheries science research ship and fishery patrol vessel that operated along the United States East Coast and the United States Gulf Coast and in the waters of the Territory of Alaska. She was part of the United States Bureau of Fisheries (BOF) fleet from 1930 to 1940. She then served as US FWS Pelican in the fleet of the Fish and Wildlife Service – which in 1956 became the United States Fish and Wildlife Service – from 1940 to 1958. She served as a fishery patrol vessel while on loan to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife from 1958 to 1970, then briefly returned to the Fish and Wildlife Service's successor agency, the National Marine Fisheries Service. Her United States Government service ended when she was sold into private hands in 1972, and she remained extant as of 2018.

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 "Spencer Baird and Ichthyology at the Smithsonian: U.S. Fish Commission". Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on September 11, 2017. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  2. ↑ USFWS Fishery Circular 97, p. 4.
  3. ↑ "22.3, General records of the U.S. Fish Commission and the Bureau of Fisheries, 1870-1940", Records of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [USFWS], The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, retrieved September 11, 2017
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Circular 97, p. 5.
  5. ↑ Stevenson, Charles H. (April 1903). "The United States Fish Commission". The North American Review: 593–601.
  6. ↑ "Fisheries Historical Timeline: Historical Highlights 1900s". NOAA Fisheries Service: Northeast Fisheries Science Center. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). June 16, 2011. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Fisheries Historical Timeline: Historical Highlights 1910s". NOAA Fisheries Service: Northeast Fisheries Science Center. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). June 16, 2011. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  8. 1 2 Circular 97, p. 9.
  9. ↑ "Fisheries Historical Timeline: Historical Highlights 1930s". NOAA Fisheries Service: Northeast Fisheries Science Center. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). June 16, 2011. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Fisheries Historical Timeline: Historical Highlights 1940s". NOAA Fisheries Service: Northeast Fisheries Science Center. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). June 16, 2011. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  11. ↑ Circular 97, p. 10.
  12. ↑ "Fisheries Historical Timeline: Historical Highlights 1950s". NOAA Fisheries Service: Northeast Fisheries Science Center. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). June 16, 2011. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Fisheries Historical Timeline: Historical Highlights 1970s". NOAA Fisheries Service: Northeast Fisheries Science Center. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). June 16, 2011. Retrieved September 11, 2017.[ dead link ]
  14. ↑ "United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries: Annual Reports 1871-1903". 19th & Early 20th Century Marine Ecology & Fisheries Research Reports. Friends of Penobscot Bay. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  15. 1 2 Circular 97, p. 17.
  16. ↑ "The Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission. Selected reports 1881-1901". 19th & Early 20th Century Marine Ecology & Fisheries Research Reports. Friends of Penobscot Bay. 2006. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  17. ↑ United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries (1887), The Fisheries and Fisheries Industries of the United States (PDF), Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, retrieved September 11, 2017
  18. ↑ "Shimada, Allen, "Sette's Namesake" at aifrb.org AIFRB-Biographies-web.pdf" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  19. ↑ Anonymous, “Dr. Manning Passes,” Fisheries Service Bulletin, No. 292, September 1, 1939, p. 1 Accessed 10 August 1939
  20. ↑ Fisheries Service Bulletin No. 1, June 1915, p. 1.
  21. 1 2 Aller, p. 2.
  22. ↑ Aller, pp. 103 ff, 109 ff, 114 ff, 118 ff, 123 ff.
  23. ↑ "Pacific Expeditions of the US Fish Commission Steamer Albatross, 1891, 1899–1900, 1904–1905". Harvard University Library Open Collections Program: EXPEDITIONS & DISCOVERIES. Harvard University. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  24. 1 2 Day, p. 6.
  25. ↑ Circular 97, p. 25.
  26. ↑ Butchko, Thomas R. (April 2002). "Edenton Station, United States Fish and Fisheries Commission" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places—Nomination and Inventory. North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  27. 1 2 3 NOAA History: R/V Fish Hawk 1880-1926
  28. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center AFSC Historical Corner: Early Fisheries Enforcement Patrol Boats (1912-39)
  29. 1 2 3 Circular 97, p. 19.
  30. 1 2 3 4 NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center AFSC Historical Corner: Osprey, BOF's first Alaska patrol boat
  31. ↑ AFSC Historical Corner: Auklet and Murre, 1917 Sister Patrol Vessels Retrieved September 17, 2018
  32. ↑ NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center AFSC Historical Corner: Kittiwake, World War I Boat Over 100 Years Old
  33. ↑ NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center "AFSC Historical Corner: Petrel and Merganser, World War I Boats"
  34. ↑ NOAA Fisheries Alaska Science Fisheries Center AFSC Historical Corner: Widgeon, World War I Boat
  35. 1 2 3 4 NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center AFSC Historical Corner: Stream Watchmen
  36. 1 2 3 4 5 6 NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center AFSC Historical Corner: Aircraft for Enforcement, Surveying & Transportation
  37. 1 2 Circular 97, p. 20.
  38. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Pribilof Islands Tender Vessels". AFSC Historical Corner. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  39. ↑ afsc.noaa.gov AFSC Historical Corner: Roosevelt, Bureau's First Pribilof Tender Retrieved September 8, 2018
  40. ↑ afsc.noaa.gov AFSC Historical Corner: Eider, Pribilof Tender and Patrol Vessel Retrieved September 7, 2018
  41. 1 2 afsc.noaa.gov AFSC Historical Corner: Penguin, Pribilof Tender for 20 Years (1930–50) Retrieved September 7, 2018
  42. ↑ AFSC Historical Corner: Penguin II, Pribilof Islands Tender (1950-64) Retrieved September 6, 2018
  43. ↑ AFSC Historical Corner: Dennis Winn, Auxiliary Pribilof Tender in the 1950s Retrieved September 10, 2018
  44. 1 2 AFSC Historical Corner: Pribilof, Bureau's Last Pribilof Tender (1964-75) Retrieved September 4, 2018
  45. ↑ NOAA 200th Top Tens: History Makers: George Brown Goode: Eminent 19th Century Fish Scientist Accessed 13 November 2022
  46. ↑ "The New Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries," The American Angler, April 1896, p. 130.
  47. ↑ Report of the Commissioner for the Year Ending June 30, 1896 Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1898, p. 1.
  48. ↑ "BOWERS, George Meade (1863-1925)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress 1774 to present. U.S. Senate Historical Office. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  49. ↑ "ประวัติกรมประมง" (in Thai). Department of Fisheries. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
  50. ↑ "Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution 1932". 1846.
  51. ↑ Anonymous (May 1, 1936). "Passing of Former United States Commissioner of Fisheries Henry O'Malley". Fisheries Service Bulletin (252). United States Department of Commerce: 1. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  52. ↑ Anonymous, "Appointment of Frank T. Bell as Commissioner," Fisheries Service Bulletin, May 1, 1933, p. 1.
  53. ↑ Anonymous, "Commissioner Frank T. Bell Resigns," Fisheries Service Bulletin, February 1, 1939, pp. 1–2.
  54. ↑ Galtsoff, Paul S., The Story of the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Biological Laboratory Woods Hole, Massachusetts, Circular 145, Washington, D.C., 1962, p. 115.
  55. ↑ Report of the United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1896, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1897, p. 1.
  56. ↑ Anonymous, "Commissioner Frank T. Bell Resigns," Fisheries Service Bulletin, February 1, 1939, p. 1.

General and cited references

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.