78 American Fisheries Society 



knowledge of its problems and opportunities, being thus aware 

 of the dangers in the situation and cognizant of the various lines 

 in which the nation can be benefited at the present time, desire to 

 record in formal manner those fundamental principles which 

 appear to be essential to wise legislation and to effective work for 

 the proper utilization of the fishing resources of the nation, and do 

 accordingly express these views; and, 



Whereas, Under the stress of war conditions expert advice and 

 trained supervision is even more necessary than in ordinary 

 times; and, 



Whereas, Hasty or inexperienced action may easily result in 

 the depletion of natural resources which cannot be restored within 

 a long period of years; and, 



Whereas, In the staff of the United States Bureau of Fish- 

 eries, and in the trained experts of the State Bureaus, Commissions, 

 and Hatcheries, the country is possessed of a body of highly 

 trained men devoted to the needs of the nation as a whole and 

 qualified to speak on special problems of fisheries in the war with 

 the knowledge and experience that will guard against the evident 

 danger of hasty action; and, 



Whereas, proposals have been made to suspend or revoke laws 

 for the regulation of fisheries which have grown out of long experi- 

 ence and careful study of conditions regarding the habits, growth, 

 and multiplication of fish on the one hand, and the practical con- 

 ditions of the fishing industries on the other hand; and, 



Whereas, The shad, striped bass, and other anadromous 

 species have decreased in some rivers almost to the point of 

 extinction, because of fishing devices operated in the salt and 

 brackish waters through which they must pass to reach their 

 natural spawning grounds in fresh water; and, 



Whereas, Artificial propagation of these species is impossible 

 and natural reproduction is prevented unless a reasonable supply 

 of such fishes is allowed to reach their natural spawning grounds 

 in fresh waters; therefore, 



Be It Resolved, That the expression "letting down the bars" 

 as applied to the fishery resources of the country is unfortunate; 

 national welfare demands the greatest development of the said 

 fisheries, including fish culture and the artificial propagation of 

 food fishes to the highest possible point of efficiency; 



Resolved, That commercialization of the so-called game fishes 

 is not conducive to their proper conservation but would tend to 

 destroy a limited but valuable food product — the annual catch 

 under present restrictive laws, aided by artificial propagation, 

 being barely sufficient to maintain a reasonable annual supply; 



