FEDERAL FISH FARMING 



427 



OPEN-AIR TROUGHS I'OR REARING SALMON AT A HATCHERY OxNT THE PENOBSCOT 

 RIVER IN MAINE (see PAGES 432 AND 433) 



southern and eastern parts of the Pacific, 

 several cruises to the Hawaiian Islands 

 and Japan, and many visits to Alaska, in 

 addition to numerous surveys on the coast 

 of the Pacific States, all having for their 

 object the investigation of the physics 

 and biology of the regions visited, the de- 

 termination of their aquatic resources, 

 and the study of their fisheries. In 1907 

 the vessel began a survey of the waters 

 of the Philippine Archipelago and has 

 just completed that work. 



The deepest sounding made by the 

 Albatross — near the island of Guam — 

 was 4,813 fathoms; the greatest depth at 

 which the vessel found life was 4,173 

 fathoms ; the greatest known ocean depth 

 is 5,269 fathoms, near Guam, ascertained 

 by the U. S. S. AVro while using Alba- 

 tross apparatus. 



WORK IN BEHALF OF THE COMMERCIAL 

 FISHERIES 



The first duty to which the Bureau of 

 Fisheries was assigned, namely, the inves- 



tigation of the reported decrease of food- 

 fishes in New England, necessarily in- 

 volved the collection of statistics of pro- 

 duction, personnel, and capital. Since 

 that time this branch of the work has 

 been conducted without interruption, and 

 in it have naturally been included the va- 

 rious other subjects atTecting the eco- 

 nomic and commercial aspects of the 

 fisheries. Among the bureau's functions 

 in this field are (i) a general survey of 

 the commercial fisheries of the country ; 

 (2) a study of the fishery grounds with 

 reference to their extent, resources, 

 yield, and condition; (3) a study of the 

 vessels and boats employed in the fisher- 

 ies with special reference to their im- 

 provement; (4) a determination of the 

 utility and efifect of the apparatus of cap- 

 ture employed in each fishery; (5) a 

 study of the methods of fishing, for the 

 special purpose of suggesting improve- 

 ments or of discovering the use of un- 

 profitable or unnecessarily destructive 

 methods ; (6) an inquiry into the methods 



