TWENTY-FIFTH BIENNIAL REPORT. 
The duties of the Board of Fish and Game Commissioners, as listed 
in the Politieal Code, are: the strict enforcement of the laws for the 
protection and preservation of wild animals, wild birds, fishes, mollusks, 
erustacea and other forms of aquatic animals and plants, the inspec- 
tion of the storage and transportation of fish and game, the establish- 
ment and maintenance of fish hatcheries, the stocking of streams with 
fish, the construction and repair of fish ladders and screens, and the 
propagation, distribution and protection of game birds and animals. 
All of these duties have been performed to the best of our ability with 
the means at hand. 
In reviewing the work we find that the past biennial period has been 
one of widened activities, increased results and better enforcement of 
the fish and game laws. At the present, however, we are entering a_ 
period of marking time. War-time conditions demand economy. How- 
ever, there should be no relaxation or reduced efficiency, and increased 
watchfulness is necessary to prevent a tearing down of the protective 
laws relating to fish and game. It is a period of danger. Already 
there have been numerous attempts by commercial interests to shelve 
protective laws, and if food conditions should become still more serious, 
it will become increasingly difficult to prevent dangerous inroads being 
made on our fish and game. This must be a time of organizing forces 
for the defense, lest commercial interests break down all that has been 
erected for the protection of our wild life. The new federal legislation 
relating to insectivorous and migratory birds has come at an opportune 
time and will be of great assistance in preventing the enemies of game 
from getting the upper hand. 
The outstanding features of the past biennial period have been the 
erection of a splendid new hatchery in Inyo County, the building of a 
new patrol boat to be used in enforcing the laws in southern California 
waters and in carrying on fishery investigations, the enlargement of the 
activities of the Commercial Fisheries Departmént, including the admin- 
istration of the kelp industry, the extensive educational and publicity 
campaign which has been carried on, and the splendid results obtained 
in enforeing fish and game laws. 
New laws enacted by the 1917 legislature are proving valuable. The 
trapper’s license law was well received by the trappers, and the pro- 
visions of the law are sure to increase the take of furs and at the same 
time give needed protection to fur-bearing animals. The new game 
breeder’s law is a great improvement on the old one, but very few have 
