Part II.—PROCEEDINGS OF THE DIVISIONAL CONFERENCE, 
JANUARY 4 TO 7, 1927 
SYMPOSIUM ON FISHERIES AND FISHERY INVESTIGATIONS 
OUR OPPORTUNITIES: OUR RESPONSIBILITIES 
By Henry O'MALLEY, COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES 
I am very glad to welcome you to this first conference of the division of 
scientific inquiry. We have an important work to perform, and I trust that 
the results of this conference will be such that we will want its annual 
repetition. ; 
After you have had an opportunity to examine in some detail the work of 
the various investigators, I hope that you may be able to direct your efforts 
toward the most worthy goals, getting a perspective of the larger problems of 
the fisheries and realizing their gravity and importance to the Nation. You 
should have a self-consciousness as fishery investigators and a group conscious- 
ness as the scientific staff of the Bureau of Fisheries that will add to your re- 
spect for the dignity and significance of your daily tasks and increase your pride 
in your chosen calling. 
You fishery investigators are favored persons. You have unprecedented 
opportunities, but with these opportunities there are equally great responsi- 
bilities. 
The attitude of the people toward scientific investigation of the fisheries has 
undergone a distinct change in the last five years. While the tendency was 
noticeable many years before, it has been only very recently that we find 
dealers and fishermen, leaders of the industry, advocating fishery regulation, 
requesting technical advice, and calling upon us to draft appropriate legislation 
to protect the fisheries. While the fishery investigator formerly was looked 
upon as some kind of a queer, impractical person, a “bug hunter,” he is now 
regarded by the more intelligent fishermen as an expert with a deeper insight 
and broader, more sympathetic understanding of the problems of the sea than 
many so-called “practical” men. This change of attitude on the part of the 
public has been reflected in the legislation of the States and Congress by 
increasing appropriations for research. While formerly congressional constitu- 
ents demanded only the establishment of fish hatcheries, now, particularly in 
the marine fisheries, the demand is also for biological investigations, and funds 
for this purpose are being provided. 
The fishery investigator of to-day stands on the threshold of a new era of 
scientific development. The new science of fishery biology is developing rapidly, 
both in this country and in Europe, and promises to become an important and 
honored member of the group of natural sciences. While systematic ichthy- 
ology in America is based upon the names Gill, Jordan, Gilbert, and Cope, the 
future development of fishery biology may well rest upon the names of many 
of you here present. Fishery biology is entering upon a virtually virgin field; 
there is no dearth of urgent and significant questions; in fact, every fishery in 
every section of the country offers a host of problems too numerous to mention 
and as yet untouched. Not only the practice of fishery conservation but the 
very fundamentals still await investigation. 
The opportunities for fishery research offered by the Bureau of Fisheries are 
now superior to those ever before provided, and, needless to say, are superior 
to those of any private organization or institution. Few institutions have the 
financial resources of the Government for such work; none of them have the 
facilities for collecting data or the authority to make these data accessible. 
Few have access to library facilities equal to those found in Washington, and 
few can offer their investigators such freedom of movement, such breadth of 
field, as can the Bureau of Fisheries. The bureau investigator may pursue his 
subject to its ultimate and complete solution and satisfy the desire for scientific 
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