IN MEMORIAM 



Wilbert McLeod Chapman and Milner Baily Schaefer 



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Fisheries science in particular and society in 

 general suffered two tragic losses within the 

 period of only a month with the deaths of W. 

 M. Chapman on June 25, 1970, and M. B. 

 Schaefer on July 26, 1970. It is indeed a strange 

 and sad commentary that these two men whose 

 careers were intimately entwined since college 

 days should pass within such a short time of 

 each other. 



Death is never easy to accept; it is particu- 

 larly hard to do so when it occurs at an untimely 

 age. Both of these brilliant men, we would 

 have hoped, would have been with us for years 

 to come. Both were unique, each in his own 

 way, and while the world adjusts to such events, 

 each is in a very real sense irreplaceable. 



I had the opportunity to work rather closely 

 with both of them in California over most of 

 the past two decades. Wib Chapman was a 

 member of the California Marine Research Com- 

 mittee for many years, during most of which I 

 served as that body's secretary. It was a chal- 

 lenge to try to capture the essence of his re- 

 marks. The breadth of his knowledge and the 

 incisiveness of his thinking stimulated all of 

 us to higher goals, and we who were close to 

 him are better today for the good fortune of his 

 friendship. 



"Benny" Schaefer was equally brilliant. His 

 expositions on the scientific method and pop- 

 ulation dynamics before the Inter-American 

 Tropical Tuna Commission were models of trans- 

 lation into lay terms of highly complex mathe- 

 matical theories applied to living resources. 

 Again a personal note. A few years ago Benny 

 was a consultant to the California Department 

 of Fish and Game during the formation of that 

 body's Fish and Wildlife Plan and we worked 

 closely in developing the philosophy behind the 

 sections concerned with living marine resources. 

 His imprint is deeply ingrained in that docu- 

 ment and in subsequent legislation, as well as 

 in my thinking. 



And, as Wib Chapman had a large input in 

 that task, so did Benny into the deliberations 

 of the Marine Research Committee. Meantime 

 both worked diligently as members of the Cal- 

 ifornia Marine Advisory Committee on Marine 

 and Coastal Affairs. While these men will right- 

 fully be remembered for their major contribu- 

 tions to national and international affairs, their 

 energy and interests were such that they en- 

 compassed an amazingly broad spectrum. Each 

 of their contributions to the State of California 

 is more than most men could accomplish in a 

 lifetime devoted to that pursuit alone. One 

 hears parallel stories throughout the scientific 

 and fisheries communities. 



Wilbert McLeod Chapman was born in Ka- 

 lama, Washington, on March 31, 1910. He died 

 in San Diego, California, on June 25, 1970, and 

 is survived by his wife of 35 years, Mary Eliza- 

 beth, and five of their six children. 



He did both his undergraduate and graduate 

 work at the University of Washington, obtaining 

 his Ph.D. (fisheries) in 1937. His publications, 

 ranging from morphology and systematic ich- 

 thyology through fisheries economics and inter- 

 national law, number some 250. One of these. 

 Fishing in Troubled Waters, is a book recounting 

 his experiences as a fisheries development oflicer 

 in the South Pacific during World War II. It 

 is fascinating reading and makes one regret all 

 the more that the other books he had in mind 

 will never be forthcoming. He was particularly 

 proud of his papers on systematics and morphol- 

 ogy and always spoke fondly of that part of 

 his career. 



His honors were many: among them he was 

 a Fellow of the Guggenheim Foundation and of 

 the California Academy of Sciences, .Man of the 

 Year of the National Fisheries Institute in 1966, 



