FORTY-FIRST BIEXXIAL REPORT 79 



to make satisfactory cost analyses. Fifj:ures on costs of oi^Tation an- unly 

 available to the bureau on a fiscal year basis. Althoufrh this cau.ses a hn-ak 

 in the middle of the peak of the plantin-r s.-asoii it was d.M'iii.-d a.lvisa!)!.- 

 to make the change by taking an inventory of tisli on hand as of .hdy 1st 

 in order to relate the production to cost of operation. Two of th.' tal)les 

 given therefore cover the calendar years 1!I4S and !!•»!• and a third .-ovt-rs 

 the period January 1 to June W. V.)7A). 



REPORT OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE 

 BIOLOGICAL STAFF 



The preceding bienniuni. that of l!)4()-4.^, liad witncss.-d thi- or-^'ani- 

 zation of the biological and pollution control work of thf Bureau of Fisli 

 Conservation into essentially its present form. DurinL' tliat jirriod the 

 division of the State into eight administrativr districts luul h.'cn foni- 

 pleted, with a biologist in charge of all fresh-water fisheries invi-sliga- 

 tions and an assistant hatchery supervisor in cliarge of all hatehery 

 activities in each district. ^Many major and minor jn-ojeets wliieli had 

 been put aside because of the severe limitations on both manjiower and 

 materials imposed by "World "War TI were initiated or reactivated. 



With the basic organization completed, the activities of the biologjeal 

 and pollution control staff were accelerated all along the line during the 

 1948-50 Biennium to meet the tremendous problems arisiuL' iu the p(»st- 

 w^ar period and at the same time to take advantage of the larire sums of 

 money made available for capital expeiulitnres througli the California 

 Wildlife Conservation Act. These problems arise from two main s()urees: 

 (1) Fishing pressures on angling waters resulting from a j)henonienal rise 

 in the numbers of anglers, and (2) removal of fishiriir waters for power, 

 irrigation, domestic, and flood control jjurposes. 



In the postwar period the biological statf has faced a series of new 

 kinds of problems which had to be met with new technif|ues and methods 

 and in large part by personnel with little actual field ex|)erience. It is 

 inevitable that under these circumstances eonsideralile time was first 

 devoted to an acquaintance with conditions by m-w itersonnel and to 

 basic fact-finding. Of course, new problems continue to arise and addi- 

 tional fact-finding will be necessary to meet the.se new problems and 

 also to understand better the old ones, but already it has been possible 

 to make major recommendations regarding both innn<'(liate and l«>jig- 

 range problems and to start carrying out these reeonunendations. 



As the members of the biological staff have become ac<|uainted witii 

 the problems in their respective districts they have b.-en assigned an 

 increasing share of administrative responsibility, so that in most aren.s 

 they are now in charge of not only investigative work hut also sueh 

 phases of applied fisheries management as fish rescue, stream an.l lake 

 improvement, and screening of water diversions. 



Obviously, it would be physically impossihl.- for the two f.. tjircp 

 permanent members of the biological staff in each district to carry otit 

 by themselves the necessary field surveys of streams aiid lakes and other 

 fact-finding phases of the work, to study and analyze and repc.rt on their 

 own field investigations and those of other agencies (e.p.. the volumiin.UH 

 data presented for comment and recommendations by federal nueiieics 



