Conservation of Wildlife

STATEMENT OF DR. IRA N. GABRIELSON, DIRECTOR, FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, ACCOMPANIED BY FREDERICK C. LINCOLN, IN CHARGE OF MIGRATORY BIRD INVESTIGATIONS, DIVISION OF WILDLIFE RESEARCH, AND DR. H. J. DEASON, SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE DIRECTOR, FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE

Dr. GABRIELSON. Mr. Chairman, I offer the formal statement for your consideration at this time.'

(The statement referred to is as follows:)

THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE

The Nation's wildlife resources-from deer to rabbits and from whales to sardines are helping to win the war by furnishing food, furs, feathers, vitamins, essential industrial oils, and glycerin, as well as providing relaxing recreation for war workers.

When war broke out the Fish and Wildlife Service realined its work program so as to stress activities which were capable of making direct contributions to the national war program. Some of these, for example, are Service personnel, utilizing their technical skills and specialized knowledge, instructed the military services in methods of controlling destructive and disease-carrying rodents in Army encampments; provided information of strategic importance about certain remote outposts little known except for the explorations of Service naturalists; made studies of furs and fur fibers for war use; and evaluated and surveyed lands to be purchased for war purposes by the Navy Department.

Of outstanding importance again during the past fiscal year was the effort to make the Nation's fisheries available in the most effective way possible for meeting domestic needs and at the same time permitting exports to our allies.

FISHERY ACTIVITIES

War gave new twists to fishery activities. It created a multitude of new problems, and increasing dependence was placed by the fishing industry upon data collected by the Service for their solution.

The technical, economic, and statistical aid rendered by the Fish and Wildlife Service to the country's fishery industries in order to assist them in meeting their war problems and food quotas required was, primarily, a continued expansion of peacetime duties and the concentration of personnel and existing facilities. These additional technological investigations, economic studies, and statistical surveys have frequently resulted in achievements and accumulation of data which give much promise for the welfare of the post-war fishery industries through improved products, better marketing methods, and increased knowledge of current industry activities.

A survey of the financial condition of fishery cooperatives was made during the past year for a report to the Ways and Means Committee of the House of Representatives on a bill which provides for the exemption of cooperatives from certain taxes. The material collected will be the basis for future studies on cooperatives, a type of fishermen's association which will be of increasing importance in the post-war period.

Total production by all fisheries in 1943 was 4,048,294,000 pounds, for which fishermen received an estimated $180,000,000. The collection and publication of information relating to the quantity and value of the commercial catch of fishery products in the United States, the employment of fishermen, shore workers, fishing craft and gear in the industry, and the production of manufactured fishery products was continued during the year although somewhat curtailed because of the shortage of personnel.

In cooperation with the Service's Division of Fishery Biology and the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, the collection of current statistics on landings by fishing craft at New Bedford was begun. Records were obtained on landings for both 1942 and 1943, and the data were tabulated and published in monthly and annual bulletins. Data on current landings are now being collected and published each month.

The collection and publication of data on landings of fishery products at New Jersey ports was undertaken during the year and arrangements were made to obtain and release similar information on landings at ports on Long Island, N. Y. A cooperative plan was entered into with the Maryland Department of Tidewater Fisheries and the Department of Research and Education for the collection and tabulation of individual catch records on the fish and shellfish taken by certain types of inshore fishing gear.

The Fishery Market News Service, which assists the orderly marketing of fresh, frozen, and cured fishery products by disseminating to fishermen, shippers, wholesalers, buyers, and consumers, current information on production, shipments, prices, supply, and demand, issued daily and monthly reports during the entire fiscal year. Field offices were maintained at New York, Boston, Chicago, Seattle, and New Orleans. In addition to the supply and demand data in the daily reports and monthly summaries, the market reports reprinted, in full or in condensed form, all Federal orders which affected fishery production, marketing, or supply. The inclusion of these regulations, immediately upon issuance, provided the only current source of such information to the fishery industries. Fishery Market News, a monthly review, also carried special articles of interest to the industry, more complete texts and interpretations of Federal orders, and a monthly index of Federal regulations.

In the Service's fishery technological laboratories, maintained at Seattle, Wash.; College Park, Md.; Ketchikan, Alaska; and Mayaguez, P. R., wartime research was continued, aimed at relieving difficulties caused by shortages of materials and manpower which have handicapped the fishery industries. Specially prepared packs of all types of fish and shellfish, both fresh and processed, were subjected to storage and shipping tests to determine the most practical solution to the critical tin shortage. Recommendations were made for the most effective use of available fibers for cordage and nets, based on many field and laboratory tests. Chemical and bacteriological studies resulted in improved methods for extracting agar and related seaweed gums. To increase the Nation's food supply, fishery technologists developed new canned fish products and demonstrated the utility of numerous fish and shellfish formerly discarded. In order to increase the utilization of fish as food, improved handling and processing methods and new recipes were evolved.

In the field of fishery research it has been necessary to assign a number of the Service's fishery biologists to assist in the war work handled by the Office of Fishery Coordination. The intimacy with the industry which these men have enjoyed in their regularly assigned duties is serving them in these wartime assignments to a degree where a gratifying show of confidence in their work is reflected. A greater feeling of understanding between the industry and the Service has developed because of the day-by-day assistance that has been given to the industry.

Biological studies of the commercial fisheries have been further and more sharply curtailed and investigations of game fishing were again retarded. Care has been taken, however, to continue the element of necessary observation so that gaps in essential data will not occur.

An increased amount of attention was given to the Chesapeake Bay area. Chief among the studies was a newly organized oyster survey carried on in anticipation of State action to insure increased production of oysters from depleted natural bottoms. Study of the shad and crab fisheries continued in this area and in addition shad studies were materially extended in Delaware Bay. The recovery of the shad fishery in the Hudson River has caught the imagination of State administrators and greater application of conservation principles in other areas is hoped for.

Work has continued on pollution studies as personnel and opportunities permitted. The rapid development of war industries in the past few years has introduced new pollution but has afforded opportunity for observation and study of the problem by which more precise information can be made available for the peacetime correction of these unnecessary and wasteful practices.

The salmon protection programs of the Columbia River and Sacramento River were continued but their success is now definitely endangered by threats of new impoundments on both these rivers. The future of these salmon runs cannot be considered bright in the face of these impending construction programs. Some hope is seen, however, for these streams and others threatened by similar water development plans in the establishment of facilities for increased interdepartmental and interagency cooperation for assessing all values affected by stream development.

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