The Federal Fisheries Service, 1871–1940: Its Origins, Organization, and Accomplishments

The U.S. Fish Commission was initiated in 1871 with Spencer Fullerton Baird as the first U.S. Fish Commissioner as an independent entity. In 1903 it became a part of the new U.S. Department of Commerce and Labor and was renamed the Bureau of Fisheries, a name it retained when the Departments of Commerce and Labor were separated in 1912. The Bureau remained in the Commerce Department until 1941 when it was merged with the Biological Survey and placed in the Department of Interior as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It was a scientific agency with well conceived programs of action, and it provided knowledge, advice, and example to state governments and individuals with fisheries interests and needs. Its efforts were supported by timely international agreements which constituted the precedent for Federal interest in fishery matters. The Fisheries Service earned stature as an advisor through heavy emphasis on basic biological research. The lack of such knowledge was marked and universal in the 1870’s, but toward the end of that decade, strong steps had been taken to address those needs under Baird’s leadership. USFC research activities were conducted cooperatively with other prominent scientists in the United States and abroad. Biological stations were established, and the world’s first and most productive deepsea research vessel, the Albatross, was constructed, and its 40-year career gave a strong stimulus to the science of oceanography. Together, the agency’s scientists and facilities made important additions to the sum of human knowledge, derived principles of conservation which were the vital bases for effective regulatory legislation, conducted extensive fish cultural work, collected and disseminated fisheries statistics, and began important research in methods of fish harvesting, preservation, transportation, and marketing.

The Origins and Early History of the Steamer Albatross, 1880–18

Spencer Fullerton Baird (Fig. 1), a noted systematic zoologist and builder of scientific institutions in 19th century America, persuaded the U.S. Congress to establish the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries1 in March 1871. At that time, Baird was Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Following the death of Joseph Henry in 1878, he became head of the institution, a position he held until his own demise in 1887. In addition to his many duties as a Smithsonian official, including his prominent role in developing the Smithsonian’s Federally funded National Museum as the repository for governmental scientific collections, Baird directed the Fish Commission from 1871 until 1887. The Fish Commission’s original mission was to determine the reasons and remedies for the apparent decline of American fisheries off southern New England as well as other parts of the United States. In 1872, Congress further directed the Commission to begin a large fish hatching program aimed at increasing the supply of American food f

The Origins of New Zealand's Chinook Salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha

Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, are well established as anadromous and landlocked runs in New Zealand. Ova introductions during the 1870's (probably from the McCloud River, California, U.S.A.), failed to generate anadromous stocks, but further introductions offall-run salmon ova from hatcheries in California's Sacramento River basin in the early 1900's were successful and formed the basis for existing runs. The first batch of ova in the 1900's consignments originated from Battle Creek, a Sacramento River tributary, but the explicit source of later batches is not known. It seems likely that the successful runs stem from the second batch (1903 brood year-1904 consignment in New Zealand), probably augmented by returns from later importations.

The Atlantic and Gulf Menhaden Purse Seine Fisheries: Origins, Harvesting Technologies, Biostatistical Monitoring, Recent Trends in Fisheries Statistics, and Forecasting

With its genesis in New England during the 1800's, the purse seine fishery for Atlantic menhaden, Brevoortia tyrannus, expanded south and by the early 1900's ranged the length of the eastern seaboard. The purse seine fishery for Gulf menhaden. B. patronus, is of relatively recent development, exploitation of the stock beginning in the late 1940's. Landings from both fisheries annually comprise 35-40% of the total U. S. fisheries landings, ranking menhaden first in terms of volume landed. Technological advances in harvesting methods, fish-spotting capabilities, and vessel designs accelerated after World War II, resulting in larger, faster, and wider-ranging carrier vessels, improved speed and efficiency of the harvest, and reduction in labor requirements. Chief products of the menhaden industry are fish meal, fish oil, and solubles, but research into new product lines is underway. Since 1955 on the Atlantic coast and 1964 on the Gulf coast, the NMFS has monitored the fisheries for biostatistical data. Annual data summaries of numbers-of-fish-at-age harvested, catch tonnage, and fishing effort of the fleet form the basis of routine stock assessments and annual catch forecasts to industry for the upcoming fishing season. After landings declined in the 1960's, the Atlantic menhaden stock has recovered through the 1970's and 1980's. Exceptional year classes of Gulf menhaden in recent years account for record landings during the 1980's.

Território de gente e de música: Jovens no Centro cultural Cartola e o cotidiano de uma experiência

Este trabalho busca compor um quadro das práticas cotidianas de jovens frequentadores das oficinas de jazz oferecidas pelo Centro Cultural Cartola (CCC). Contextualizado dentro de um universo tradicionalmente conhecido por sua origem no samba, esse território de arte e de expressão através do corpo e da música contempla outros movimentos musicais, principalmente o jazz e o moderno, possibilitando um conjunto de múltiplos sentidos e ressignificações na vida destes participantes. Como fundamentação epistemológica, foi utilizada a Teoria Ator-Rede (TAR), concebida como forma de abordar a fabricação dos fatos, ao abranger, simetricamente, natureza e sociedade, humano e não humano. Foram igualmente consideradas as possíveis configurações de interação e sociabilidade que envolvem território, sujeito e demais atores da rede, os quais conseguem reconhecer-se diante do outro, do diferente, e construírem um projeto individual e coletivo frente à sociedade multicultural em que estão inseridos. Para isso, foram realizadas entrevistas que, por sua vez, são complementos à descrição interpretativa registrada no diário de campo, permitindo a dimensão de improviso, de manejo das situações e de envolvimento nas incessantes redefinições processuais. O campo explorado foi, estritamente, o de jovens adolescentes, num recorte etário de 14 a 21 anos. Todos deveriam estar matriculados na escola ensino fundamental e médio e residir em comunidade, não sendo necessariamente a Mangueira. As abordagens contemplaram também as incontáveis participações do professor da oficina de jazz. Durante o processo, emanou-se a existência de um apaixonamento e de uma apropriação por parte de todos os envolvidos com a oficina: parte administrativa, pedagógica e docente, garantindo autonomia e diferencial no universo social do grupo, cujas escolhas legitimam o quanto o investimento na cultura produz artistas conscientes da beleza inerente à própria arte e aos afetamentos daí advindos. Interessante ressaltar que o samba funciona como marca histórica e temporal do CCC, mas a principal motivação ali percebida estava no encontro mediado pela dança, junção corpo/música, presente na vida dos participantes desde a infância, além do prazer de pertencerem a um grupo afim, movido por histórias semelhantes. Junto a isso, o professor exercia o papel de liderança velada, a mediar as relações e a produzir efeitos de coesão grupal, com suas ideias e incentivo à expressão pela dança, de modo a dar lugar a novas descobertas e ressignificação