250 American Fisheries Society 



The importance of this work is receiving each year more 

 recognition from members of state fish and game commis- 

 sions and from other pubHc officials having the interest of the 

 fisheries and the conservation of the country's resources at 

 heart. The Bureau of Fisheries receives numerous letters 

 from various sources urging the extension of this valuable 

 work to new fields; but until such time as Congress recog- 

 nizes its importance by providing adequate funds and a suit- 

 able personnel, new fields cannot be opened. The possibilities 

 for the further extension of operations are very great. Even 

 in the districts where it is now being conducted, the field is 

 only partially covered, while there are many unbroken miles 

 of river, on which no rescue work has been undertaken, where 

 the floods are annually causing the destruction of large num- 

 bers of fish. The major tributaries also offer a field of un- 

 known possibilities. 



Under present arrangements, Congress makes no special 

 appropriation for this particular work. It is financed by a 

 part of the general appropriation for the propagation of food 

 and game fishes, while the regular personnel and equipment 

 are drawn temporarily from other branches. What is needed 

 in order that operations may be conducted on the scale that 

 their importance justifies, is direct recognition by Congress 

 through the provision of special funds and personnel. Thus 

 the work would not be more or less contingent on the necessi- 

 ties of other duly established activities for which money from 

 the general fund must be allotted. 



It should be made evident that the rescue work is of more 

 than local interest. The food fishes of the Mississippi River 

 receive a wide distribution in the trade, while the numbers di- 

 verted for the stocking of other waters is of importance. In 

 fact, the importance of this work as a means of maintaining 

 and increasing the food supply of the country, can hardly be 

 equalled in any other field, when cost, results, and quick returns 

 are considered. 



