Origin and Functions. 
HE Bureau of Fisheries may be said to date from 1871, 
in which year Congress passed a joint resolution au- 
thorizing the President to appoint a Commissioner of Fish 
and Fisheries, whose duty it should be to conduct investi- 
gations relative to the diminution of the supply of food 
fishes and to make recommendations to Congress regarding 
this subject. From this beginning the work increased 
yearly in extent and scope; and under the name of Com- 
mission of Fish and Fisheries the Bureau had an inde- 
pendent existence until June 30, 1903, when it became a part 
of the Department of Commerce and Labor, under the title 
Bureau of Fisheries. 
The Bureau of Fisheries is peculiarly American in its con- 
ception, and its prototype exists in few other COMMEnMeSe nL 
labors directly for the preservation and increase of useful 
water animals, and, in conjunction with many of the states, 
has placed certain branches of the fisheries on a permanent 
basis. It has achieved a wide reputation for originality of 
method and magnitude of operations, and has given the 
United States first place in all matters relating to the en- 
richment of the aquatic food supply by artificial means. 
The Bureau has participated in all the great expositions at 
home and many of those abroad, and has received numerous 
awards for the originality and excellence of its work. 
The operations of the Bureau are now conducted on three 
general lines: (1) The propagation and distribution of food 
fishes: (2) the scientific investigation of the seas, rivers, and 
lakes and their inhabitants; (3) the study of the economic 
fisheries and the collection of statistics thereof. 
