Saltonstall-Kennedy Program 



An important piece of legislation which benefits 

 the commercial fisheries of the United States was 

 enacted as Public Law 466 by the 83d Congress, and 

 has come to be known as the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act. 

 This act, effective since July 1, 1954, provided that 

 an amount equal to 30 percent of the duties collected 

 on imports of fishery products under the customs laws 

 be transferred annually, for 3 years, from the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture to the Department of the Interior, 

 (This provision has since been made permanent.) 



The legislation had as its purpose 44 to promote the 

 free flow of domestically produced fishery products in 

 commerce," and specified that expenditures in any one 

 year be limited to $3 million. The act authorized the 

 Fish and Wildlife Service to carry on research and 

 thereby lead the way for the practical application of 

 research findings. An important section of the Fish 

 and Wildlife Act of 1956 placed the S-K program on a 

 permanent basis, and removed the $3 million annual 

 limitation. As a result, the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act 

 has enabled the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries to 

 give better and more far-reaching aid and service to 

 the commercial fisheries than was previously possible. 



Before passage of the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act, 

 annual Congressional appropriations were the only 

 source of Bureau funds', and research and service 

 activities of the Bureau fluctuated in an unpredictable 

 fashion. Although funds provided by the Saltonstall- 

 Kennedy Act are a small percentage of the funds 

 available to the Bureau, they serve a very useful 

 purpose. They are spent primarily on short-term or 

 emergency projects which previously could be under- 

 taken only by interrupting or abandoning continuing or 

 long-term projects. 



In general, the Bureau expends Saltonstall-Kennedy 

 funds in a three-pronged program: 



1. To provide new research and services to the 

 domestic commercial fishing industry not possible 

 earlier because of insufficient funds and manpower; 



2. To contract with private research organiza- 

 tions and institutions adequately equipped and 

 staffed to perform studies and surveys needed; and 



3. To augment research and services that the 

 fishing industry requests from the Bureau. 



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