II REPORT TO THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE 
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, 
Bureau oF FISHERIEs, 
Washington, July 1, 1927. 
Hon. Hersert Hoover, 
Secretary of Commerce. 
Dear Mr. Secrerary: I have the honor to submit the following 
summary of the major operations of the Bureau of Fisheries during 
the fiscal year ended June 30, 1927. 
Perhaps the most noteworthy development of the year has been the 
growing appreciation of and expressed need for expansion of modern 
scientific research in the solution of fishery problems. This is shared 
by men in the fishery industries confronted by the many problems in 
the taking, merchandising, and distribution of fish and fishery prod- 
ucts; by State and other officials interested in determining the condi- 
tion and trend of each fishery and the need for and character of regu- 
lations necessary for the husbanding and wise use of our fishery re- 
sources; by Federal, State, and private agencies confronted with 
problems of large-scale fish propagation, the prevention of losses by 
fish diseases, and the development of the science of aquiculture; and 
by the thousands of organizations and indiyiduals interested in hay- 
ing good fishing and enjoying the use of lakes and streams for 
recreational pursuits. It is believed that the bureau’s present pro- 
gram of practical research and applied science is accomplishing much 
in inspiring confidence in and dependence on modern science for the 
solution of problems in fish culture, fishery administration, and tech- 
nology. This also apples to the important duty of regulating and 
conserving the highly valuable fisheries of Alaska. 
The concern felt for the future of such fisheries as those for shad, 
sturgeon, whitefishes, and lobsters, and the appreciation of the value 
of scientific research as a basis for wise administration of fishery 
resources, has caused demands to be made wholly beyond the scope of 
the scientific staff to cope with; and the same is true of demands for 
assistance from the bureau’s technological staff in solving the prob- 
lems of the commercial fishermen. 
The bureau produced 6,481,073,000 fish and eggs for stocking vari- 
ous waters, an increase of more than 1,000,000,000 over the preceding 
year and the greatest production in the history of the bureau. Fifty- 
five cooperative fish nurseries assisted in rearing more fish from the 
fry stage to a length of 3 or 4 inches. Greater cooperation with State 
commissions helped to make this an unusually successful year; never- 
theless present facilities are wholly inadequate for meeting the in- 
creasing demand for the trouts, basses, and sunfishes. 
In 1926 the fishery industries experienced one of the most success- 
ful years in their history. The vessel landings at New England ports, 
which averaged about 170,000,000 pounds for the five-year period— 
1920 to 1924—had increased to nearly 217,000,000 pounds in 1925 and 
made a further increase to over 238,000,000 pounds in 1926. In large 
measure this growth is due to the growing demand for fish packed as 
fillets and steaks and to the unusually large catches of mackerel, 
which in 1926 exceeded 60,000,000 pounds. Landings of haddock 
(the principal fish sold in package form) averaged 73,000,000 pounds 
for the five-year period—1920 to 1924—increasing to nearly 92,000,000 
pounds in 1925 and to more than 94,000,000 pounds in 1926. 
