BUREAU OF FISHERIES ais 
It is expected that a great deal of information valuable to retail 
fish dealers and allied interests will become available upon the com- 
pletion of the tabulation and analysis of the large volume of data 
collected in the course of this survey. 
Work in connection with the administration of the Fisheries Coop- 
erative Marketing Act was continued during the year. Such work 
particularly took the form of collecting, analyzing, and dissemi- 
nating information. This unit of the Bureau offers an advisory 
service to fishermen who are considering the desirability of forming 
cooperatives. 
Other studies relating to the economics of the fisheries or the 
marketing of fishery commodities conducted during the year included 
investigations of the surplus-fish situation; a compilation of the 
magnitude of the commercial fisheries of the world; the assembling 
of data on the commercial fisheries as a source of employment; a 
study of the significance of byproducts to the fishery industries; a 
review of the rosefish fishery of New England; and studies of such 
specific fisheries or industries as the Chesapeake Bay soft-crab indus- 
try, the shark fishery of the South Atlantic coast, and the Pacific 
coast oyster industry. 
BIOLOGICAL FISHERY INVESTIGATIONS 
The primary purpose of all biological fishery investigations is to 
insure a continuing supply of fish and shellfish for food and indus- 
trial purposes. The measurement of the drain on existing resources, 
the determination of withdrawals that may be made without en- 
dangering future supplies, and the development of devices or pro- 
cedures to protect undersized fish from wasteful and destructive meth- 
ods of fishing are of fundamental importance from the standpoint 
of conserving an important food resource. In time of war or threat- 
ened war increased exploitation of the fisheries is inevitable. The 
progress of fishery biology since the first World War will prevent 
a repetition of many of the serious mistakes made during that 
period, when certain fishery resources were reduced to dangerous 
levels by uncontrolled exploitation. It is essential, however, that 
the programs of investigation that are now in progress, and that are 
providing information essential to proper fishery management, should 
be continued without interruption through any period of national 
emergency if our aquatic resources are to be safeguarded. 
North Atlantic fishery investigations.—Biological fishery investi- 
gations in North Atlantic waters are concerned primarily with de- 
termining the size of available stocks of fish, measuring fluctuations 
