THE BUREAU'S PROGRAM 



OF RESEARCH AND SERVICES 



RE-EVALUATION OF REGIONAL ACTIVITIES 



As a result of a comprehensive review 

 of its activities in this Region the Bureau 

 of Commercial Fisheries has recently devel- 

 oped the program described in the following 

 pages. This was done with the advice of 

 members of the fishing industry and the 

 States and with full appreciation of the 

 responsibilities of each. 



This critical review has led to a program 

 designed to provide more effective utilization 

 of the valuable fisheries resources of the 

 Region. The Regional program outlines the 



emphasis of Bureau research and service 

 activities under the present organization and 

 plans for future work. It includes biological 

 and technological research programs and 

 service activities designed to strengthen the 

 competitive position of the commercial fish- 

 ing industry. Many of the fishery problems, 

 however, are so severe that solutions may be 

 long in coming. Breakthroughs in others give 

 ample cause for enthusiasm and encourage- 

 ment. 





RESEARCH PROGRAMS 



TRAWL FISH 



STUDY OF THE RESOURCE — Investigations 

 are being made to better measure the abund- 

 ance of the many species in the rich trawl fish 

 resource and predict long- and short-term 

 changes in abundance. Biological surveys of 

 important fishing grounds are underway to 

 provide information on the life history, pop- 

 ulations, and migrations of the commercially 

 important species. A new biological research 

 vessel has recently been provided to increase 

 the frequency and regularity of fish distribu- 

 tion and abundance surveys. 



More emphasis will be given to oceano- 

 graphic studies and the development of more 

 precise methods of forecasting abundance of 

 fish populations. Increased studies of the 

 effect of mesh size on fish populations will 

 be made with a view to maintaining adequate 



stocks in the face of increasing fishing pres- 

 sure. 



IMPROVING FISHING TECHNIQUES— Methods 



of improving existing trawl fishing tech- 

 niques are being studied as a part of the 

 Bureau's exploratory fishing and gear re- 

 search program. Work during the first year 

 of this program will concentrate on evaluat- 

 ing new types of trawl gear and on develop- 

 ing electronic equipment for testing gear 

 performance. The gear research program 

 Vk'ill be expanded to include work on the 

 introduction of new fishing gear and tech- 

 niques. Further exploratory fishing studies 

 also will be initiated to better define the 

 limits of this important resource. Surveys of 

 the Continental Slope will be an important 



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