INTRODUCTION 



The North Atlantic Region (Region 3) 

 of the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries ex- 

 tends from Maine to Virginia. It includes 13 

 states with a relatively small total land area 

 of 240,000 square miles, but with a popula- 

 tion of 50 million people. 



This report outlines the Region's share 

 in the responsibility assigned to the Bureau 

 of Commercial Fisheries by the Congress, "To 

 aid in maintaining the welfare of the fisheries 

 of the United States and its territories by 

 conducting research, investigations, and stud- 

 ies and by providing marketing, informa- 

 tional, and other services for the commercial 

 fishing industry and the general public." 



The importance of marine food resources 

 cannot be overemphasized. The fishing in- 

 dustry now furnishes employment, directly 

 and indirectly, for some 500,000 people in 

 the United States. It will become increasingly 

 important as the world's available supply of 

 protein food and the demands of an explod- 

 ing world population become more and more 

 unbalanced. 



The Bureau's plans for the future rec- 

 ognize the need to assist the commercial fish- 

 ing industry in meeting its immediate and 

 more obvious problems and, even more im- 

 portant, the need to provide long-lasting solu- 

 tions to fundamental fishery problems. Opti- 

 mum and judicious use of marine resources 

 will result from longer term programs involv- 

 ing economic, biological, technological, and 

 oceanographic investigations. 



This report defines the Region's fishery 

 resources and outlines programs of research 

 and development designed to use these re- 

 sources more wisely. It also describes the 

 services that need to be provided to an indus- 

 try upon which, in the future, the Nation 

 must depend for a vital part of its welfare 

 and security. 



