REPORT 
OF THE 
COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 
DerepaRTMENT OF COMMERCE, 
Bureau oF FIsHErIes, 
Washington, September 30, 1918. 
Sir: I have the honor to submit herewith a report in which are 
outlined ths operations of the Bureau of Fisheries during the fiscal 
year ended June 30, 1918. The major divisions, into which the report 
naturally falls, are general administrative matters, the propagation 
and distribution of food fishes, the artificial propagation of fresh- 
water mussels, the Bureau’s relations with the fishing industry, 
biological and physical investigations and experiments, the Alaska 
fisheries service, the Alaska fur-seal service, protection of the minor 
fur-bearing animals of Alaska, and miscellaneous activities and rela- 
tions. 
GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS. 
ADAPTATION TO WAR CONDITIONS. 
The Bureau has continued to conduct its operations with reference 
to the peculiar situation created by war, and has actively cooperated 
with other governmental agencies—Army, Navy, Food Administra- 
tion, War Trade Board, Shipping Board, Fuel Administration, ete.— 
in furthering the country’s interests so far as its powers and resources 
permit. This has resulted in a curtailment of activities in certain 
lines, but in essential respects has given to the operations an impor- 
tance never before assumed. 
Seagoing vessels of the Bureau suitable for naval purposes have 
been placed at the disposal of the Navy Department and are render- 
ing good service. The Navy Department has taken over the entire 
plant of the marine biological station at Beaufort, N. C. The exten- 
sive docks and spacious buildings at the marine station at Woods 
Hole, Mass., have been largely and constantly used as headquarters 
for a naval-reserve force. 
The estimates of appropriations for 1920 have been submitted with 
reference to urgent conditions, which make unwise the expenditure 
of any moneys not actually required for operations on a war basis. 
.Under other circumstances, larger appropriations would have been 
requested; and, in due time, such funds as the Bureau needs for the 
proper performance of its functions and the fulfillment of its obliga- 
tions to the country will be estimated for and strongly urged before 
Congress, which in the past has dealt with this service in a liberal 
manner. 
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