DEVELOPMENT OF THE COLLEGE OF 

 FISHERIES 



By John N. Cobb 



Director, College of Fisheries, University of Washington 

 Seattle, Wash. 



At the College of Fisheries, of the University of Washing- 

 ton, we are trying to do something new. We have the only 

 representative educational institution outside the Empire of 

 Japan which is giving full courses of instruction in matters 

 connected with the oldest industry in the world. In the case 

 of Japan, a beginning was made in the work about ten years 

 ago. 



The establishment of our College of Fisheries was largely 

 due to the initiative of Dr. H. M. Smith, United States 

 Commissioner of Fisheries, who in 1914 attended the first 

 meeting of the Pacific Fisheries Society and was so enthusias- 

 tic on the subject that he got the university people started. 

 But the university happened to be without a head at the 

 time; and then the war came on and it was thought best to 

 defer definite action. In 1919, Dr. Suzzallo, our President, 

 and the Board of Regents, believing the time ripe, provided 

 ofilicially for the establishment of the college and then turned 

 over to me the entire matter of working out details. We 

 were entering upon a new line of work and had practically 

 nothing to guide us, so we had to build from the bottom up. 

 We made some mistakes, but we have not been afraid to ac- 

 knowledge them at once and to change our methods when 

 necessary. 



During the war the U. S. Naval Reserve used a part of 

 the campus of the University of Washington, and at the con- 

 clusion of hostilities there was left a group of buildings of 

 which fortunately we were able to utilize three. One of 

 them. Fisheries Hall No. 1, contains the administrative ofiEices. 



