East Lagoon Field Station The sea-water laboratory on East Lagoon in 



Galveston (illustrated on front cover) was dedicated by Assistant Secretary 

 of the Interior, Frank P. Briggs, during the meeting in Galveston of the 

 American Fisheries Advisory Committee. 



Four rooms for controlling temperatures within a 



narrow range for studies of shrimp physiology 



are nearing completion. 



Increased Tempo of Research Effort It is instructive to occasionally glance 



back over your shoulder and see where you have been in comparison with 

 where you are going. Biological research in fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico 

 has lagged behind other areas but appears to be gathering steam. The shrimp 

 fishery of the south is the most valuable U. S. fishery, and we have exam- 

 ined the research publications of the Bureau of Commerfial Fisheries on this 

 subject as an index of fishery research effort in the area. 



Shrimp research by the Bureau in the Gvilf of Mexico began in 1931 

 with headquarters in New Orleans and continued in a small way until about 

 1948. For almost a decade thereafter, active field work was discontinued. 

 The third phase was reactivation of shrimp research at the Biological Lab- 

 oratory in Gaiveston in the late 1950 's by means of Saltonstall -Kennedy funds. 

 The fourth phase comnnenced in mid-1961 when, through efforts of the Gulf 

 States Marine Fisheries Commission, regular funds were appropriated that 

 have permitted large-scale biological and hydrographic sampling off the Gulf 

 coast between the Rio Grande and the Mississippi Rivers, and port sampling 

 of commercial landings to supply data needed for studying the dynamics of the 

 populations. 



