The National Marine Fisheries Service has existed only since October 3,
1970, but the federal fishery agency celebrated its "de facto"
centennial on February 9, 1971, and will continue the observance
throughout the calendar year.
On February 9, 1871, President Grant signed a bill recognizing a
national interest in fisheries conservation by creating the independent
Office of Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, also sometimes known as
the Fish Commission. The bill authorized the President, with the advice
and consent of the Senate, to appoint a Commissioner from among the
civil officers or employees of the Government. The Commissioner would
receive no additional salary, but the sum of $5,000 was appropriated
for a study of "the decrease of the food fishes of the seacoasts and
lakes of the United States, and to suggest remedial measures." Because
fish were an important source of food, the fisheries were the first
renewable resource to receive public attention in our nation.
Spencer Fullerton Baird, Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian
Institution, wrote to Congress in January 1871, calling attention to
the problem of depletion of food fishes of the seacoasts and lakes of
the United States and offering suggestions for remedial measures.
A Joint Resolution proposing a study of the problem had a difficult
time in the House. according to debate reported in the Congressional
Globe, predecessor of the Congressional Record. Committee Chairman
Henry Laurens Dawes, Republican of Massachusetts, described the terms
of the Resolution, but Rep. Farnsworth, Republican of Illinois,
sought to kill it with ridicule. TheCongressional Globe for January 18,
1871, reports: "The Resolution was read and the opposition reserved
all points of order whereupon Chairman Dawes read the letter from Mr.
Baird and added his own testimony to the need for scientific
investigation. " The record, as reported in the Congressional Globe,
indicated that other scientists involved also would serve without
additional salary, and would be recruited from among personnel of the
Smithsonian.
Following the presentation by Chairman Dawes, there was
the following dialogue:
Mr. Farnsworth: Add to your resolution a direction to
inquire in reference to grasshoppers and potato-bugs.
Mr. Dawes: My friend from Illinois may think this is a
subject of no importance whatever; but I assure him that along
the coasts of New Jersey and New York, and all up our coast to
the British possessions, this is a matter of vital importance.
Mr. Farnsworth: So is the inquiry in reference to the
potato bug.
After further discussion, Mr. Farnsworth stated that he objected to the
matter. And so the Resolution was deferred. Five days later, on
January 23. Chairman Dawes again asked for unanimous consent to
introduce the same resolution for immediate action. This time it was
opposed by Congressman Benjamin of Missouri, who is listed in the
Biographical Directory of the American Congress as a "Radical
Republican."
After considerable discussion in which Mr. Farnsworth again joined, a
vote was taken and it was decided in the affirmative --yea's 137, nay's
47, not voting 54. This was the beginning of what we now know as the
National Marine Fisheries Service.
Shortly after the affirmative vote, the President appointed Professor
Baird as the first Commissioner. Headquarters were promptly established
at Woods Hole, Mass., where he soon began studies of striped bass, blue
fish, and other species. In the century that followed, the little
village on Cape Cod became a world-famous oceanographic and marine
research center.
Commissioner Baird supervised construction of the first federal fishery
research laboratory at Woods Hole in 1885. The old building was
replaced with a modern structure in 1960, and it is now one of the most
modern biological research laboratories operated by NMFS.
Although the new Commissioner's primary interest was in biological
research, his horizons in fisheries were surprisingly broad for the
period. In 1872, with support from the American Fish Culturists
Association, he established a marine hatchery at Woods Hole for
artificial propagation of fish. When the cod fishermen of New England
were unable to obtain herring for bait, he introduced Norwegian cod
gilnets and taught the use of net preservatives. With Baird's
encouragement, one of his associates was the first to identify the
adverse effects of bacterial action on salt cod and to develop control
procedures for bacterial discoloration. In 1879, Baird arranged for
his staff to work with the Census Office on the first comprehensive
statistical survey of the U.S. fishing industry.
After Commissioner Baird's death in 1887, his multidiscipline
approach to fisheries was largely discarded. For many years thereafter,
fish culture was foremost in the federal fishery program, although time
demonstrated that this was an oversimplified solution to the complex
problem of maintaining high fishery yields. The original act
establishing the office of Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, was
amended on January 20, 1888, to authorize a salary of $5,000 per year
for the Commissioner. The amendment required that he not hold any other
office or employment.
The Fish Commission and the Office of the Commissioner of Fish and
Fisheries continued as an independent establishment of the federal
government from its inception until July 1, 1903, when it was placed in
the newly created Department of Commerce and Labor. The same
legislation transferred from the Department of the Treasury to the
Department of Commerce and Labor, jurisdiction, supervision, and
control over the fur seal, salmon, and other flsheries of the Territory
of Alaska. The federal fishery agency was also renamed the Bureau of
Fisheries.
The Act of March 4, 1913, split the Department of Commerce and Labor
into two separate departments, and the Bureau of Fisheries remained in
the Department of Commerce until July 1, 1939. Then the 1939
Reorganization Plan No. II transferred the Bureau of Fisheries to the
Department of the Interior. The same Reorganization Plan transferred
the Bureau of Biological Survey from the Department of Agriculture to
the Department of the Interior.
Another reorganization followed shortly. On June 30, 1940,
Reorganization Plan No. III consolidated the Bureau of Fisheries and
the Bureau of Biological Survey into a new agency to be known as the
Fish and Wildlife Service in the Department of the Interior.
An organizational status quo was maintained for about 16 years. In
1956, the name was changed to United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
The new organization consisted of two separate agencies, each with the
status of a federal bureauthe Bureau of Commercial Fisheries and the
Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife.
On July 9, 1970, President Nixon proposed Reorganization Plan No. IV
which would transfer to the Department of Commerce from the Department
of the Interior those functions administered through or primarily
related to the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries. Excepted from the
proposed transfer were Great Lakes fishery research and activities
related to the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission, Missouri River
Reservoir research, the Gulf Breeze, Fla., biological laboratory, and
the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Investigations. These excepted functions
remained in Interior with the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife.
The Reorganization also transferred to Commerce the functions related
to the marine game fish programs which had been the responsibility of
the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife. The former Bureau of
Commercial Fisheries was renamed the National Marine Fisheries
Service and joined several other government units in Commerce's
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, when the plan became
effective October 3, 1970, and a new era in marine fisheries began.
History shows that Congress has had a continuing interest in our
nation's fisheries. The concern actually predates 1871 because the very
first Congress took action to assist the new nation's first industry.
Because the fishing industry was a heavy user of salt, Congress
provided relief from the import duty of six cents a bushel on salt by
authorizing a payment of five cents for each quintal
The Second Congress was more direct in support of fisheries by
repealing the provision of the five-cent payments and substituting a
direct subsidy to both owners and fishermen. Depending on the tonnage
of fishing vessels, a subsidy of up to $170 was paid annually,
three-eighths to the owners and five-eighths to the fishermen. It is
not generally known what $170 would buy in the days of the Second
Congress, but we do know that the Secretary of the Treasury, who
administered the program was paid less than $300 per month, and members
of Congress received $6 per day.
Since 1871, Congress has given the federal fishery agency a broad
mandate to study aquatic resources. Under specific statutes, the NMFS
serves as the research agency for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries
Commission, the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission, and the United
States Section of the International North Pacific Fisheries Commission.
NMFS is heavily committed to management research in support of U.S.
obligations and interests under nine international fishery commissions
and a number of bilateral agreements. Not only has such research been
essential for the wise use of the resources, but in many cases the data
have served to protect our interest in, and our access to, the
resources.
An example is evident in the research program of the United States
under the International Convention for the High Seas Fisheries of the
North Pacific Ocean, agreed to by the United States, Canada, and Japan
in 1952.
Under the Convention, research in red salmon spawned in the streams and
lakes of western Alaska has provided a broad base of scientific data
for the North Pacific Convention area. The data include abundance and
life history information, migration patterns of various year classes of
salmon during their years at sea, and information on the areas and
extent that salmon of North American origin and salmon of Asian origin
intermingle at sea. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game also has
supplied essential elements of red salmon research. Because of the
scientific data, and working within the framework of the 1952
Convention, the United States has achieved a high degree of protection
for its Alaska red salmon resources. In most years the impact of high
seas salmon fishing on Alaska red salmon has been minimized because of
the willingness of the Convention signatories to limit fishing effort
in critical areas.
Over the past 60 years, the U.S. catch has varied greatly in species
composition, due in part to changes in abundance of the various stocks,
to the discovery of new resources and processing techniques and to
changes in consumer taste preferences. For example, in 1908 shad, sea
trout, and carp were among the ten most valuable U.S. fishery products,
accounting for nearly 10 percent of the total catch value. In 1970,
while still important. these fisheries combined contributed only about
one percent of the total catch value. Conversely, in 1908, tuna barely
showed in the industry statistics, and shrimp accounted for only about
one percent of the total catch.
In more recent years, shrimp has accounted for more than a fifth of the
total value of the U.S. fishery catch. In 1970, the preliminary data
shows that the total shrimp catch of all species was worth about $130
million to the fishermen--about 23 percent of the total value of the
entire U.S. catch. In 1970, tuna landings will show a slight increase
over the 323 million pounds for 1969, when the catch was valued at $54
million at dockside. Salmon, oysters, lobsters, crabs, and, until
recently, haddock have consistently ranked among our most valuable
fisheries through the years since shortly after the turn of the
century.
In 1970, according to preliminary information, the total U.S. catch was
about 4.8 billion pounds, worth about $570 million to the fishermen.
Both the value and volume were up sharply from 1969--in fact, the value
was the highest ever paid U.S. fishermen for a one-year catch, and the
total volume was the eighth largest on record and the highest since
1962. As recently as 1968, more than 75 percent of our total domestic
supply of all fishery products came from imports. In 1969, the import
figure dropped to 64 percent, and in 1970 it was about 57 percent. The
pattern has developed because of sharply reduced imports of fishmeal.
The total supply of fishery products for human food increased from
5.6 billion pounds in 1969 to 6.3 billion pounds in 1970, reflecting
increased demand for quality seafood items. A greater percentage of the
total food fish supply was of domestic origin than in the previous two
years, even though imports of edible products rose in 1970.
A fish unknown to most Americans accounts for the largest share of our
landings. That fish is the menhaden, a herring-like species used
primarily for manufacturing fishmeal, an important additive in poultry
rations. Of the total U.S. catch of 4.8 billion pounds, nearly 2
billion pounds was menhaden caught along the Atlantic coast and in the
Gulf of Mexico.
The frequent reorganizations and transfers of the federal fishery
agency indicate constantly changing conditions, calling for changes in
the federal approach to the changing problems. Change appears to be a
dominant word in the history of our fisheries. After the old Bureau of
Commercial Fisheries became the National Marine Fisheries Service, and
other organizations with missions in the atmosphere and the oceans were
united in NOAA, Secretary of Commerce Maurice H. Stans issued the
following statement:
"The establishment of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration in the Department of Commerce marks a significant
consolidation of research, exploration, development, conservation,
monitoring and educational activities as they relate to the oceans and
atmosphere. The intelligent use of the oceans, which constitute
three-fourths of the entire earth's surface, is vital if we are to
strike a proper balance between development and conservation of its
vast but surely not unlimited resources. In many respects we are more
familiar with the surface of the moon than we are with the ocean depths
of our own planet. Until now, in spite of sincere efforts, government
has failed to organize itself to meet effectively the challenge and
opportunities of operating in an ocean environment. Instead of 23
departments and agencies of government competing for various parts of
the Federal mission in the ocean and the atmosphere, we will now have a
single agency providing a unified national thrust in delivering on
both the promise and potential of this last great frontier on earth."
The Secretary added:
"Among the fields in which NOAA will assume Federal civilian leadership
will be the mapping and charting of the global oceans and the Great
Lakes; ocean fish exploration and conservation; aquaculture
development; marine biological research; fish technology and industry
services; technology of the air and sea; the monitoring of such
geophysical phenomena as pollution, seismicity, climate and
geomagnetism; and scientific and technological data collection and
dissemination."
The first Director of the new NMFS is Philip M. Roedel of California,
who had served for a year as Director of BCF. Mr. Roedel joined the
federal service after some 30 years as an internationally known
scientist and administrator in the California Department of Fish and
Game. His latest state assignment was as Director of the California
Marine Fish Program, and he has served as a representative of both the
state and federal government at dozens of international conferences and
meetings. When NOAA was formed, he said:
"We feel that the creation of NOAA marks the birth of a new era for
marine fisheries in the United States. As the National Marine Fisheries
Service, our responsibilities are broader than they were as the Bureau
of Commercial Fisheries. We now have the responsibility for the total
living marine resources including bo.h commercial and recreational
interests."
Mr. Roedel added: "We have realigned our internal structure to
include our broader responsibilities and to enable us to approach
fishery problems in totality rather than on a piecemeal basis. We view
NMFS as having a responsibility in two major areas: one dealing with
problems relating to the living marine resources; the other with
problems that arise after they are caught. "It is our feeling that
consideration o~ the resource must come first," Mr. Roedel said, '
because without the resource, there would be neither commercial nor
recreational users."
Asked about the basic goal of the National Marine Fisheries Service,
Mr. Roedel said that the basic goal is conservation--that is, the wise
use of the resource. He said that a strong, sound, biological base is
fundamental to the goal. On the occasion of the centennial, Director
Roedel said that in years past it was the custom of the federal fishery
agency to try to adapt to problems such as split jurisdiction over
fisheries matters and institutional barriers placing unrealistic and
sometimes prohibitive restrictions on commercial fishing. It is
apparent, he said, that this premise has not produced viable solutions
to the complex problems. "It is generally agreed that there is a need
for strengthening and improving the management of our fisheries, and
it is our intention to look at all possibilities of a new federal-state
partnership under which we would manage the resource jointly in the
best interests of all concerned."
Home
