REPORT 



OF THE 



COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 



Department of CoM:\rERCE, 



Bureau of Fisheries, 

 Washington, September 15, 1920. 



Sir : I have tlie honor to present lierewith a report which <rives 

 an outline of the major operations of the Bureau of Fisheries durin^^ 

 the fiscal year endintr June 30, 1920. The Bureau's functions are 

 comprehended under eight captions, namely, relations with the lishery 

 industries, biolooical in\'estigations, propagation and distribution of 

 food fishes, artificial propagation of fresh- water mussels, Alaska 

 fishery service, Alaska fur-seal service, minor fur-bearing animals 

 of Alaska, and general administration considerations, for each of 

 which there follows a brief discussion. A number of special reports 

 covering the Bureau's various activities have been issued and may be 

 consulted by those who desire details. 



It may be noted that the Bureau has reached the fiftieth year of 

 its existence, having been established in February, 1871. Its growth 

 from a mere commission charged with investigatory functions has 

 been phenomenal, and the half century closes with the Bureau oc- 

 cupying a larger sphere of usefulness than ever before and prepared 

 to render a more im]:)ortant service to the fishing industry and to the 

 general public, but with its powers curtailed by a grossly underpaid 

 staff and by inadequate appropriations for essential features of the 

 work. 



FISHERY INDUSTRIES. 

 GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 



The general condition of the American fisheries may be character- 

 ized as unsettled. While the world-wide ci-y has l)een for increased 

 food production, and the fisheries have responded to the cry, there has 

 been an underconsumption of fish in the country at large, and mil- 

 lions of pounds of food fish have been wasted or put to economic 

 uses of lesser importance. While the prices of foodstuffs almost 

 without exception were rising during the past year, in at least one 

 of the great fisheries, namely, the New England vessel fisheries, there 

 was a falling off in prices received by the fishermen as compared with 

 the previous year. 



The Bureau, through its division of fishery industries, has ren- 

 dered meritorious service in reducing waste, in effecting improvements 

 in methods of preservation and distribution, in securing larger pro- 

 duction of aquatic products, and in increasing the public apprecia- 



