IN MEMORIAM: ROBERT LOUIS DRYFOOS, 1939-1974 



A modest and understanding man, an unselfish 

 and loving husband, an affectionate father, a 

 devoted son and grandson, and a dedicated and 

 accomplished scientist, this is a rich life of 

 accomplishment, Robert Louis Dryfoos. 



He was always willing to lend a hand to his 

 many friends and colleagues, always dependable 

 in responsibilities, and solid in his accomplish- 

 ments. He could achieve, whether it meant 

 leading a local centennial parade high up on a 

 Rotarian float as an old New England sea cap- 

 tain, or elucidating the complexities of the 

 migrations of a million fish from Cape Cod to the 

 Gulf of Mexico. His quiet nature belied his 

 status as a respected fisheries expert and research 

 administrator. As an authority on the dynamics 

 of fish populations he made significant contribu- 

 tions to a better understanding of the complex 

 fisheries in the northeast Pacific, the Atlantic 



coast, and in his most recent work, the fishery 

 resources of the entire United States. 



He had a natural curiosity that led him to the 

 ocean at an early age. As a young boy in San 

 Francisco he was never far from the sea, the fresh 

 wet-smell of the surf, the screeching gulls, and the 

 small fishing boats plying their catches under the 

 Golden Gate. His curiosity and his willingness 

 and ability to help others was to be satisfied in 

 a decade of productive fisheries research. Not 

 esoteric problem solving for problem sake, but 

 rather a dedication to learn about the sea and 

 unravel its vagaries of protein production. He 

 collected, sifted, and synthesized previously un- 

 known bits of information, pieced them together 

 meticulously, systematically, and with keen intel- 

 ligence and patience he would tell us more about 

 how to develop and maintain our fragile fisheries. 

 He teamed with other young and dedicated men, 

 in Seattle, in Beaufort, at Charleston, Woods 

 Hole, La Jolla, Narragansett, and in Washington. 

 He was intent on learning how to better define 

 and manage the wild populations in their tempest 

 environment. And this was a pressing national 

 need, not headline stuff, but the necessary and 

 critical steps to be taken for the fisheries, that 

 all too often are abused, overexploited, and in 

 some cases damaged beyond repair. He chose this 

 direction. He worked. He sweated. He persevered, 

 and he accomplished. 



His earliest work was done as a young college 

 undergraduate with the International Halibut 

 Commission in Seattle. He spent months at a time 

 in the north Pacific, rubbing shoulders with 

 halibut fishermen on the banks. They ran their 

 trawls from Seattle up to Sitka in the Aleutians 

 and into the Bering Sea. Bob's affinity to help 

 and make a significant contribution was evident 

 in his interest in going to sea with all the 

 discomforts of tossing ship, hip boots deep in 

 gurry, fish filled checkers, and cold night watches. 

 He learned first hand about fishermen, their 

 problems, the declining stocks, and pondered on 

 how best to rebuild their catches. This early work 

 began a decade of scientific output. While an 

 undergraduate at the University of Washington 

 in 1960 he published his first paper on new range 

 extensions of fish in the north Pacific. His next 

 contribution was made during his graduate 



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