192 The National Geographic Magazine 



' ' Whereas it is asserted that the most valu- 

 able food-fishes of the coast and the lakes of 

 the United States are rapidly diminishing in 

 number, to the public injury, and so as mate- 

 rially to affect the interests of trade and com- 

 merce : Therefore, 



11 Be it resolved by the Senate and House of 

 Representatives of the United Stales of Amer- 

 ica in Congress assembled. That the President 

 be, and he hereby is, authorized and required 

 to appoint, by and with the advice and con- 

 sent of the Senate, from among the civil offi- 

 cers or employes of the government, one per- 

 son of proved scientific and practical acquaint- 

 ance with the fishes of the coasr, to be Com- 

 missioner of Fish and Fisheries, to serve with- 

 out additional salary. 



" SEC. 2. And be it further resolved ', That it 

 shall be the duty of said Commissioner to pros- 

 ecute investigations and inquiries on the sub- 

 ject, with the view of ascertaining whether 

 any and what diminution in the number of the 

 food-fishes of the coast and the lakes of the 

 United States has taken place ; and, if so, to 

 what causes the same is due ; and also whether 

 any and what protective, prohibitory, or pre- 

 cautionary measures should be adopted in the 

 premises ; and to report upon the same to 

 Congress." 



This bill became a law February 9, 

 1 87 1, and President Grant appointed as 

 Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries 

 Professor Spencer F. Baird, then Assist- 

 ant Secretary of the Smithsonian Insti- 

 tution. The new position carried no 

 salary, but Professor Baird was willing 

 to perform the duties of the new office, 

 in addition to those of Assistant Secre- 

 tary of the Smithsonian Institution, 

 without additional salary. 



Early in June, 1871, Professor Baird 

 established his headquarters at Woods 

 Hole, Massachusetts, this being in the 

 region where the alleged decrease was 

 most clearly manifested, and entered 

 upon the investigations for which the 

 Commission had been created. 



The contradictory opinions developed 

 by the state inquiries regarding the 

 habits of our best known food-fishes 

 showed at once that the fishermen could 

 not be depended upon for accurate ob- 

 servations or expression of unbiased 

 opinion. It was necessary therefore that 

 the habits or life-histories of the impor- 



tant food- fishes should receive thorough 

 study before satisfactory conclusions 

 could be reached. With the able assist- 

 ance of Dr Theodore Gill, a definite and 

 comprehensive plan of inquiry was for- 

 mulated. Professor Baird 's training as 

 a naturalist, as well as his tastes, gave 

 him faith in the exact methods of science 

 in the investigation of all economic ques- 

 tions ; and it was the scientific method 

 which characterized the very first in- 

 quiries undertaken by the Commission. 

 The methods to be pursued were those 

 of science, and the Fish Commission 

 therefore began its career as a scientific 

 bureau. 



It soon became evident that the fish- 

 eries had greatly decreased in value, 

 and that destructive methods — over- 

 fishing, the building of dams and other 

 obstructions in coastwise streams, and 

 the pollution of their waters by refuse 

 from sawmills and other manufacto- 

 ries — were among the most potent causes 

 which had led to the decrease. 



The only adequate solution of the 

 problem seemed to be the establishment 

 of proper fishery regulations based upon 

 accurate knowledge of the habits of the 

 fishes, and the development of methods 

 of artificial propagation as applied to 

 those species in danger of most serious 

 depletion. The initial efforts of the 

 Commission were therefore directed, 

 first, toward securing accurate knowl- 

 edge of the habits, abundance, and dis- 

 tribution of the more important species 

 of food-fishes, and, second, the devel- 

 opment of methods by means of which 

 these species might be propagated arti- 

 ficially. 



This Bureau was established as the 

 United States Commission of Fish and 

 Fisheries, and the chief of the Bureau 

 was known as the United States Com- 

 missioner of Fish and Fisheries. The 

 Commission remained as an unattached 

 bureau, not being placed in any Cabinet 

 department, until the establishment of 

 the Department of Commerce and Labor. 



