CATALOGUE OF INSTITUTIONS— DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 



175 



Admiral R. R. Waesche, the Commandant of the 

 Coast Guard, in addition to that on the Inter- 

 national Ice Patrol on a preceding page: 



Each year the United States Coast Guard 

 details a force of vessels to the Bering Sea in the 

 performance of the duties of the Coast Guard 

 in those waters during the season of marine 

 activities. These duties involve the cruising 

 of the vessels throughout all sections of the 

 Bering Sea, affording opportunities, at times, for 

 oceanographic observations, and thus contribut- 

 ing to the meager knowledge now available bearing 

 upon currents, bathymetry, water temperatures, 

 and other oceanographic data applicable to that 

 region. 



During the season of 1934 the Coast Guard 

 cutter Chelan, under the command of Com- 

 mander F. A. Zeusler, U. S. C. G., in collaboration 

 with the Oceanographic Laboratory of the 

 University of Washington, conducted a survey 

 of the physical and chemical conditions of the 

 surface waters from the Strait of Juan de Fuca 

 to Dutch Harbor, Alaska, during the regular 

 passage of the cutter from Seattle en route to 

 Bering Sea Patrol duty. From July 26 to August 

 24, 1934, the oceanographic party aboard the 

 Chelan made a study of the chemistry of the 

 Bering Sea ocean floor, of the ocean water, and 

 of the various organisms and plants, and of the 

 water circulation, water temperatures, etc. 

 throughout a major portion of the Bering Sea 

 area. The results and discussion of the data 

 obtained during this cruise have been published 

 in a Coast Guard bulletin, dated June 1, 1936, 

 entitled "Report of Oceanographic Cruise, United 

 States Coast Guard cutter Chelan, Bering Sea 

 and Bering Strait, 1934." 



During the season of 1935 and 1936, the Coast 

 Guard cutter Chelan, in command of Commander 

 L. V. Kiclhorn, U. S. C. G., in furtherance of the 

 studies carried on during 1934, conducted an 

 oceanographic survey of the waters in the general 

 region of Bowers Bank, Bering Sea (in 1935), 

 and of the waters to the westward and southward 

 of Attn Island (in 1936). These ob.servations 

 developed the presence of a submarine plateau, 

 previously uncharted, in Western Bering Sea, 

 and indicated that, contrary to the general belief 

 formerly entertained, shoal water existed between 

 the Kormandorkis and the Aleutian Chain, and 

 that deep water existed in the Aleutian Trough. 

 The soundings data obtained during the Chelan's 



cruises of 1935 and 1936 are recorded on charts 

 published in the above-mentioned bulletin. 



Recognizing the value and importance of 

 oceanographic observations in the Bering Sea 

 and North Pacific Ocean region, the Coast Guard 

 plans to continue such work as opportunity offers 

 in the course of the regular cruising activities of 

 its vesisels in that area. 



United States Bureau of Fisheries ('37) 



History or origin: The Bureau of Fisheries, the sole 

 Federal Agency concerned with the conservation 

 and utilization of the nation's aquatic resources, 

 owed its inception to the widely entertained 

 opinion that the fisheries in general were diminish- 

 ing in value and importance on account of the 

 intensity and methods with which they were 

 prosecuted, a view which investigation has shown 

 to be justified with regard to many fishes and 

 other valuable aquatic animals. The American 

 Fish Culturists Association (now the American 

 Fisheries Society) took a leading part in advocat- 

 ing investigation of the subject, and largely 

 through its influence and the representations of 

 State fisheries officers. Congress passed a joint 

 resolution, approved February 9, 1871, which 

 provided for the appointment of a Commissioner 

 of Fish and Fisheries who was directed to conduct 

 investigations concerning the facts and the causes 

 of the alleged diminution and the feasibility of 

 remedial measures. Until July 1, 1903, the 

 establishment was independent, reporting directly 

 to Congress, and was known as the U. S. Com- 

 mission of Fish and Fisheries, but on the organiza- 

 tion of the Department of Commerce, it was 

 included by law in the new department, and the 

 name was changed to its present designation. 



Location: The central office is in the Department of 

 Commerce Building, Washington, D. C. Per- 

 manent biological laboratories, experimental sta- 

 tions, and fish cultural stations are located in 39 

 states and Alaska. Temporary field headquarters 

 for various investigations are maintained in many 

 of the leading universities. 



Organization to which attached: United States De- 

 partment of Commerce. 



Purposes: The original conception of the Bureau 

 was a body for scientific and statistical investiga- 

 tion of the fisheries and that phase of its work 

 always has been prominent, but it was soon found 

 that to secure the practical end which effected its 

 formation it should be clothed with the power 



