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{{Short description|Former U.S. government fisheries agency}}
{{Infobox government agency
|agency_name     = United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries
|nativename      = {{Plain list|
* Commission of Fish and Fisheries ({{abbr|1871|February 9, 1871}}–{{abbr|1903|June 30, 1903}})
* Bureau of Fisheries ({{abbr|1903|July 1, 1903}}–{{abbr|1940|June 29, 1940}})
}}
|seal            = 
|seal_width      = 
|seal_caption    = 
|logo            = Flag of the United States Bureau of Fisheries.svg{{!}}border
|logo_width      = 165px
|logo_caption    = Flag of the United States Bureau of Fisheries
|formed          = {{Start date and age|1871|2|9}}
|dissolved       = {{End date and age|1940|6|30}}
|superseding     = [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]]
|jurisdiction    = [[Federal government of the United States|United States federal government]]
|headquarters    = 
|employees       =
|budget          = 
|chief1_name     = 
|chief1_position = 
|parent_agency   = {{Plain list|
* [[United States Department of Commerce and Labor|U.S. Department of Commerce and Labor]] (1903–1913)
* [[United States Department of Commerce|U.S. Department of Commerce]] (1913–1939)
* [[United States Department of the Interior|U.S. Department of the Interior]] (1939–1940)
}}
|child2_agency   =
|website         = 
|footnotes       = 
}}

The '''United States Fish Commission''',<ref name=Ichthyology>{{Cite web |title=Spencer Baird and Ichthyology at the Smithsonian: U.S. Fish Commission |url=http://vertebrates.si.edu/fishes/ichthyology_history/fish_commission.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170911205017/http://vertebrates.si.edu/fishes/ichthyology_history/fish_commission.html |archive-date=11 September 2017 |url-status=dead |department=Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |access-date=11 September 2017}}</ref> formally known as the '''United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries''', was an agency of the [[United States government]] created in 1871 to investigate, promote, and preserve the [[Fishery|fisheries]] of the [[United States]]. In 1903, it was reorganized as the '''United States Bureau of Fisheries''', sometimes referred to as the '''United States Fisheries Service''', which operated until 1940. In 1940, the Bureau of Fisheries was abolished when its personnel and facilities became part of the newly created [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service|Fish and Wildlife Service]], under the [[United States Department of the Interior]].

==Organizational history==
===U.S. Fish Commission (1871–1903)===
By the 1860s, increasing human pressure on the fish and game resources of the [[United States]] had become apparent to the [[United States Government]],<ref>USFWS Fishery Circular 97, p. 4.</ref> and [[Fishery|fisheries]] became the first aspect of the problem to receive U.S. Government attention when [[Robert Barnwell Roosevelt]], a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] congressmen from [[New York (state)|New York]]{{'}}s [[New York's 4th congressional district|4th Congressional District]], originated a bill in the [[United States House of Representatives]] to create the U.S. Fish Commission. It was established by a joint resolution (16 Stat. 593) of the [[United States Congress]] on February 9, 1871,<ref>{{citation | chapter-url = https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/022.html#22.3 | chapter = 22.3, General records of the U.S. Fish Commission and the Bureau of Fisheries, 1870-1940 | title = Records of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [USFWS] | publisher = The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration | access-date = September 11, 2017}}</ref> as an independent agency of the U.S. Government with a mandate to investigate the causes for the decrease of commercial [[fish]] and other aquatic animals in the coastal and inland waters of the United States, to recommend remedies to the U.S. Congress and the [[U.S. state|states]], and to oversee restoration efforts.<ref name=circ97p5>Circular 97, p. 5.</ref> With a budget of [[USD|US$]]5,000, it began operations in 1871, organized to engage in scientific, [[Statistics|statistical]], and economic investigations of U.S. fisheries to study the "decrease of the [[Fish as food|food fishes]] of the seacoasts and to suggest remedial measures."<ref name=circ97p5/>

An expansion of the Fish Commission's mission followed quickly, when insistence by the [[American Fish Culturalist Association]] spurred the Congress in 1872 to add [[fish culture]] to the Fish Commission's responsibilities, with an appropriation of US$15,000 to establish [[Fish hatchery|fish hatcheries]] for the propagation of food fishes along the seacoasts and in the lakes of the United States.<ref name=circ97p5/> Following this change, the commission was organized into three divisions: the '''Division of Inquiry respecting Food-Fishes and Fishing Grounds''', the '''Division of Fisheries''', and the '''Division of Fish-Culture'''.<ref>{{cite journal | title = The United States Fish Commission | first = Charles H. | last = Stevenson | journal = The North American Review | date = April 1903 | pages = 593–601 }}</ref> The commission was led first by [[Spencer F. Baird]],<ref name=Ichthyology /> then [[George Brown Goode]], [[Marshall McDonald]], [[John J. Brice]], and finally [[George Meade Bowers|George M. Bowers]].

===U.S. Bureau of Fisheries (1903–1940)===
By an [[Act of Congress]] of February 14, 1903, the U.S. Fish Commission became part of the newly created [[United States Department of Commerce and Labor]] and was reorganized as the '''United States Bureau of Fisheries''', with both the transfer and the name change effective on July 1, 1903.<ref name=circ97p5/><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/history/timeline/1900.html | title = Fisheries Historical Timeline: Historical Highlights 1900s | work = NOAA Fisheries Service: Northeast Fisheries Science Center | publisher = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (NOAA) | date = June 16, 2011 | access-date = September 11, 2017}}</ref> In 1913, the Department of Commerce and Labor was divided into the [[United States Department of Commerce]] and the [[United States Department of Labor]], and the Bureau of Fisheries became part of the new Department of Commerce.<ref name=circ97p5/><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/history/timeline/1910.html | title = Fisheries Historical Timeline: Historical Highlights 1910s | work = NOAA Fisheries Service: Northeast Fisheries Science Center | publisher = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (NOAA) | date = June 16, 2011 | access-date = September 11, 2017}}</ref> Bowers led the Bureau of Fisheries, followed by [[Hugh McCormick Smith]], [[Henry O'Malley]], and finally [[Frank T. Bell]].

In 1939, the Bureau of Fisheries was transferred to the [[United States Department of the Interior]],<ref name=circ97p5/><ref name=circ97p9>Circular 97, p. 9.</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/history/timeline/1930.html | title = Fisheries Historical Timeline: Historical Highlights 1930s | work = NOAA Fisheries Service: Northeast Fisheries Science Center | publisher = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (NOAA) | date = June 16, 2011 | access-date = September 11, 2017}}</ref> and on June 30, 1940, it merged with the Interior Department's Bureau of Biological Survey to form the new '''Fish and Wildlife Service''', an element of the Interior Department.<ref name=circ97p9/><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/history/timeline/1940.html | title = Fisheries Historical Timeline: Historical Highlights 1940s | work = NOAA Fisheries Service: Northeast Fisheries Science Center | publisher = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (NOAA) | date = June 16, 2011 | access-date = September 11, 2017}}</ref>

===Successor organizations===
In 1956, the Fish and Wildlife Service was reorganized as the [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]] and divided its operations into two bureaus, the ''Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife'' and the ''Bureau of Commercial Fisheries'', with the latter inheriting the history and heritage of the old U.S. Fish Commission and U.S. Bureau of Fisheries.<ref>Circular 97, p. 10.</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/history/timeline/1950.html | title = Fisheries Historical Timeline: Historical Highlights 1950s | work = NOAA Fisheries Service: Northeast Fisheries Science Center | publisher = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (NOAA) | date = June 16, 2011 | access-date = September 11, 2017}}</ref> Upon the formation of the [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (NOAA) within the Department of Commerce on October 3, 1970, the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries merged with the saltwater laboratories of the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife to form today's [[National Marine Fisheries Service]] (NMFS), an element of NOAA,<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/history/timeline/1970.html | title = Fisheries Historical Timeline: Historical Highlights 1970s | work = NOAA Fisheries Service: Northeast Fisheries Science Center | publisher = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (NOAA) | date = June 16, 2011 | access-date = September 11, 2017}} {{dead link|date=November 2022}}</ref> and the former Bureau of Commercial Fisheries{{'}} research ships were resubordinated to the NMFS. During 1972 and 1973, these ships were integrated with those of other parts of NOAA to form the [[NOAA ships and aircraft|unified NOAA fleet]]. The NMFS is considered the modern-day successor to the U.S. Fish Commission and U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, and the NOAA fleet of today also traces its history in part to them.

==Activities==
The U.S. Fish Commission and U.S. Bureau of Fisheries carried out extensive investigations of the fishes, [[shellfish]], [[marine mammal]]s, and other life in the rivers, lakes, and marine waters of the United States and its [[United States territory|territories]], and its scientists corresponded widely with marine researchers around the world. The two agencies also scrutinized fishing technologies and designed, built, and operated [[Hatchery|hatcheries]] for a wide variety of [[finfish]] and shellfish. In the early 1900s the Bureau of Fisheries took on the responsibility for the enforcement of fishery and [[Seal hunting|sealing]] regulations in [[Alaska]], as well as for managing the harvest of fur-brearing animals in the [[Pribilof Islands]] and supporting the welfare of the [[Aleut people|Aleut]] communities of the Pribilofs. Both the Fish Commission and the Bureau of Fisheries operated a fleet of ships and boats for research, [[law enforcement]], and transportation purposes.

===Research and publications===
From 1871 to 1903, the commission's ''Annual Report to Congress'' detailed its efforts and findings in all of these areas.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://penbay.org/cof/uscof.html | title = United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries: Annual Reports 1871-1903 | work = 19th & Early 20th Century Marine Ecology & Fisheries Research Reports | publisher = Friends of Penobscot Bay | access-date = September 11, 2017}}</ref> In 1880, it began to collect, analyze, and publish fishery statistics.<ref name="Circular 97, p. 17">Circular 97, p. 17.</ref> From 1881 to 1903, the commission also published an annual ''Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission'' summarizing the commission's ''Annual Report to Congress'' and correspondence;<ref>{{cite web | url = http://penbay.org/usfc/usfc01.html | title = The Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission. Selected reports 1881-1901. | work = 19th & Early 20th Century Marine Ecology & Fisheries Research Reports | publisher = Friends of Penobscot Bay | date = 2006 | access-date = September 11, 2017}}</ref>  the bulletins included detailed catch reports from fishermen and [[commercial fishing]] [[port agent]]s around the United States and [[Canada]], reports and letters from [[naturalist]]s and fish researchers around the United States and in other countries, and descriptions of the commission's exploratory cruises and [[fish hatchery]] efforts. Beginning in 1884, the Commission published the seminal work ''The Fisheries and Fisheries Industries of the United States''.<ref>{{citation | url = https://archive.org/details/fisheriesfishery52goodrich | format = PDF | title = The Fisheries and Fisheries Industries of the United States | author = United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries | publisher = Government Printing Office | location = Washington, D.C. | date = 1887 | access-date = September 11, 2017}}</ref> The commission's research stations and surveys collected significant data on U.S. fish and fishing grounds, with considerable material going to the [[Smithsonian Institution]].<ref name=Ichthyology />

The Bureau of Fisheries carried on the Fish Commission's research work, its scientists and researchers pioneering such concepts as fisheries [[oceanography]]<ref name=shimada>{{Cite web |url=http://www.aifrb.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/AIFRB-Biographies-web.pdf |title=Shimada, Allen, "Sette's Namesake" at aifrb.org AIFRB-Biographies-web.pdf |access-date=2016-12-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220174404/http://www.aifrb.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/AIFRB-Biographies-web.pdf |archive-date=2016-12-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and fishery products utilization research<ref name=FSB19390901>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$b806044&view=1up&seq=535&skin=2021&q1=%22John%20Ruel%20Manning%22 Anonymous, “Dr. Manning Passes,” ''Fisheries Service Bulletin'', No. 292, September 1, 1939, p. 1 Accessed 10 August 1939]</ref> and publishing a wide variety of research results in the Bureau's ''Fisheries Service Bulletin''—published monthly from June 1915<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015045824698&view=page&seq=7&skin=2021 ''Fisheries Service Bulletin'' No. 1, June 1915, p. 1.]</ref><ref name=allerp2>Aller, p. 2.</ref> until December 1940<ref name=allerp2/>—as well as a ''Bulletin of the Bureau of Fisheries'' series, an ''Investigational Reports of the Bureau of Fisheries'' series, an Administrative Reports series, Economic Circulars, Fishery Circulars, an annual ''Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries'' published from 1931 to 1939, and other documents.<ref>Aller, pp. 103 ff, 109 ff, 114  ff, 118 ff, 123 ff.</ref> In 1937, the Bureau organized the Fishery Market News Service, which supported the [[Fishing industry in the United States|U.S. commercial fishing industry]] by collecting and circulating information from widely scattered fisheries centers around the United States on fishery production, receipts, supply and demand, market prices, cold storage holdings, and imports and exports.<ref name="Circular 97, p. 17"/>

Four ships were built for the Fish Commission, including the {{convert|157|ft|m|1|adj=mid|-long}} [[Schooner rig|schooner-rigged]] [[Steamship|steamer]] [[USFC Fish Hawk|USFC ''Fish Hawk'']], which served as a floating fish hatchery and fisheries [[Research vessel|research ship]] from 1880 to 1926; the {{convert|234|ft|m|1|adj=mid|-long}} [[brigantine]]-rigged steamer [[USS Albatross (1882)|USFC ''Albatross'']], which operated as a fisheries research ship from 1882 to 1921 except for brief periods of [[United States Navy]] service in 1898 and from 1917 to 1919;<ref name=Albatross>{{cite web | url = http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/expeditions/albatross.html | title = Pacific Expeditions of the US Fish Commission Steamer ''Albatross'', 1891, 1899–1900, 1904–1905 | work = Harvard University Library Open Collections Program: EXPEDITIONS & DISCOVERIES | publisher = Harvard University | access-date = September 11, 2017}}</ref> and the {{convert|90|ft|m|1|adj=mid|-long}} sailing [[schooner]] [[USFC Grampus|USFC ''Grampus'']], which was commissioned in 1886 and operated as a fisheries research ship until 1917. The Bureau of Fisheries inherited these ships in 1903 and continued to operate a research fleet for a time, but it [[Ship decommissioning|decommissioned]] its last true seagoing research ship, {{ship|USFS|Albatross II}}, in 1932, and when the Fish and Wildlife Service was created in 1940, it inherited no research vessels from the Bureau of Fisheries.<ref name=dayp6>Day, p. 6.</ref> The U.S. Government did not operate another fisheries research vessel until the Fish and Wildlife Service commissioned {{nowrap|{{ship|US FWS|Albatross III}}}} in 1948.<ref name=dayp6/>

===National Fish Hatchery System===
When Congress expanded its mission to include fish culture in 1872, the Fish Commission laid the foundation for the [[National Fish Hatchery System]], opening its first [[fish hatchery]] the same year. The Bureau of Fisheries and Fish and Wildlife Service carried on the fish hatchery program the Fish Commission began, and many of the fish hatcheries constructed by the Fish Commission before 1900 were among the 100 national hatcheries operating in 1960.<ref>Circular 97, p. 25.</ref> The [[Edenton Station, United States Fish and Fisheries Commission|Edenton Station]] hatchery, established in 1899, is na example of a hatchery constructed by the Fish Commission prior to 1900.<ref name = nrhpinv>{{Cite web | first= Thomas R. | last = Butchko| title =Edenton Station, United States Fish and Fisheries Commission| work = National Register of Historic Places—Nomination and Inventory | date =April 2002| url = https://files.nc.gov/ncdcr/nr/CO0750.pdf | publisher = North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office | access-date = August 1, 2014}}</ref>

To supplement the hatcheries, the Fish Commission commissioned the steamer {{ship|USFC|Fish Hawk}} in 1880.<ref name="fishhawk">[http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/history/ships/fishawk/fishawk.html NOAA History: R/V Fish Hawk 1880-1926]</ref> Purpose-built as a floating fish hatchery, she was intended to follow the seasonal runs of [[American shad]] up and down the coast of the United States, in addition to carrying out fisheries research duties.<ref name=fishhawk/> She operated until 1926.<ref name=fishhawk/>

===Fishery regulation and enforcement===
====Alaska====
After the [[United States]] purchased [[Russian America]] from the [[Russian Empire]] in 1867 and created the [[Department of Alaska]] (which became the [[District of Alaska]] in 1884 and the [[Territory of Alaska]] in 1912), enforcement of whatever regulations to protect fisheries and [[marine mammal]]s that existed in [[Alaska]] fell to the [[revenue cutter]]s of the United States Revenue-Marine, which in 1894 became the [[United States Revenue Cutter Service]] and was one of the ancestor organizations of the [[United States Coast Guard]].<ref name=afscearly>[https://www.afsc.noaa.gov/History/vessels/enforcement_vessels.htm NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center AFSC Historical Corner: Early Fisheries Enforcement Patrol Boats  (1912-39)]</ref> By order of the [[United States Secretary of Commerce and Labor]] on February 15, 1905, the Bureau of Fisheries received the responsibility for administering and enforcing laws protecting the Alaskan [[salmon]] fishery.<ref name=circ97p5/><ref name=circ97p19>Circular 97, p. 19.</ref> On June 14, 1906, the U.S. Congress passed the [[Alien Fisheries Act]] to protect and regulate fisheries in Alaska by placing restrictions on the use of [[fishing tackle]] and on [[cannery]] operations there and authorizing the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries to enforce these regulations as well.<ref name=circ97p5/><ref name=afscearly/> In 1920, the Bureau's Alaska responsibilities expanded again, to include supervision of the conservation of [[marine mammal]]s there, including [[sea otter]]s, [[fur seal]]s, and [[walrus]]es.<ref name=circ97p5/>

Upon receiving its law enforcement responsibilities in 1905–1906, the Bureau established regional districts throughout Alaska to organize fishery protection patrols along Alaska's {{convert|10,000|mi}} of coastline, but had no vessels suitable for such patrols in Alaska, and during the next few years relied on vessels borrowed from other [[United States Government]] agencies (such as the Revenue Cutter Service), on chartered vessels, and on transportation that canneries offered for free to Bureau of Fisheries agents.<ref name=afscearly/><ref name=circ97p19/> This approach was not satisfactory for various reasons, such as the requirement for vessels of other government agencies to perform non-fishery-related functions, ethical concerns over accepting transportation from the canneries the Bureau of Fisheries agents were supposed to regulate, and the difficulty of enforcing regulations when the local fishing and canning industry personnel warned one another of the approach of Bureau of Fisheries agents who had accepted transportation on cannery vessels.<ref name=afscearly/> Each year after the 1906 passage of the Alien Fisheries Act, the Bureau of Fisheries requested more personnel and vessels with which to fulfill its regulatory and [[law enforcement]] responsibilities.<ref name=afscearly/> By 1911, when the Alaska fishing industry reached an annual value of nearly [[USD|US$]]17 million,<ref name=afscosprey/> it had become clear that the United States Government needed to make radical changes in how it enforced the provisions of the Alien Fisheries Act, including funding the acquisition of a fleet of dedicated fishery [[patrol vessel]]s under the Bureau of Fisheries.<ref name=afscearly/>

In 1912, the Bureau purchased the former [[cannery tender]] SS ''Wigwam'' to serve as its first fishery [[patrol vessel]]; renamed [[USFS Osprey|USFS ''Osprey'']]<ref name=afscearly/><ref name=afscosprey>[https://www.afsc.noaa.gov/History/vessels/boats/osprey.htm NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center AFSC Historical Corner: ''Osprey'',  BOF's first Alaska patrol boat]</ref>—beginning a custom of naming the boats after birds common in Alaska<ref name=afscearly/>—she was [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] in 1913<ref name=afscosprey/> and quickly added the protection of [[fur seal]] and [[sea otter]] populations to her responsibilities.<ref name=afscosprey/> The  Bureau's first two purpose-built patrol vessels, [[USFS Auklet|USFS ''Auklet'']] and [[USFS Murre|USFS ''Murre'']], joined her in 1917.<ref>[https://www.afsc.noaa.gov/History/vessels/boats/auklet-murre.htm AFSC Historical Corner: ''Auklet'' and ''Murre'', 1917 Sister Patrol Vessels Retrieved September 17, 2018]</ref> The Alaska enforcement fleet increased further in 1919 with four former [[United States Navy]] patrol vessels ([[USS Raeo (SP-588)|USFS ''Kittiwake'']], [[USS Calypso (SP-632)|USFS ''Merganser'']], [[USS Cobra (SP-626)|USFS ''Petrel'']], and [[USS Edithena (SP-624)|USFS ''Widgeon'']]) transferred to the Bureau's Alaska fleet,<ref>[https://www.afsc.noaa.gov/History/vessels/boats/kittiwake.htm NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center AFSC Historical Corner:  Kittiwake,  World War I Boat Over 100 Years Old]</ref><ref>[https://www.afsc.noaa.gov/History/vessels/boats/petrel-merganser.htm NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center "AFSC Historical Corner:  ''Petrel''  and  ''Merganser'',  World War I Boats"]</ref><ref>[https://www.afsc.noaa.gov/History/vessels/boats/widgeon.htm NOAA Fisheries Alaska Science Fisheries Center AFSC Historical Corner:  Widgeon,  World War I Boat]</ref> and in 1925 the Bureau established a district headquarters at the [[Naknek River]] for the [[Bristol Bay]] district and began to acquire a flotilla of [[Motor vessel|motor]] [[Launch (boat)|launches]] to operate on the rivers, steams, and lakes in that area.<ref name=afscearly/> The Bureau also chartered vessels to support Alaska fisheries protection,<ref name=afscearly/> and Bureau patrol boats regularly protected migrating fur seal herds along the coast of [[Washington (state)|Washington]] and Alaska.<ref name=afscearly/> On October 25, 1928, several Bureau of Fisheries vessels were tasked to join U.S. Navy vessels in enforcing the provisions of the [[Northern Pacific Halibut Act]] of 1924 in the [[Bering Sea]] and [[North Pacific Ocean]], with their crews granted all powers of search and seizure in accordance with the act to protect populations of [[Pacific halibut]].<ref name=afscearly/> By 1930 the Bureau had nearly 20 boats patrolling in Alaskan waters.<ref name=afscearly/> In 1933, it began to add [[speedboat]]s to its Alaskan patrol inventory.<ref name=afscearly/>

In 1918, the Bureau of Fisheries augmented its fishery enforcement effort with a force of "steam watchmen," temporary employees who worked two to five months a year and kept a particular area under continuous observation; they also occasionally maintained lights and protected free-floating [[fish trap]]s from drift.<ref name=afscwatchmen>[https://www.afsc.noaa.gov/History/vessels/streamwatchmen.htm NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center AFSC Historical Corner:  Stream Watchmen]</ref> The stream watchmen sometimes provided their own [[motorboat]]s.<ref name=afscwatchmen/> From an initial force of 10 men in 1918, the stream watchman force—which operated in both [[Southeast Alaska|Southeast]] and [[Southcentral Alaska|Southcentral]] Alaska—grew to 59 men in 1922 and 220 in 1931.<ref name=afscwatchmen/> In addition to stream watchmen, the Bureau also employed special [[Conservation officer|wardens]] and operators of chartered boats to enforce fishery regulations.<ref name=afscwatchmen/>

The Bureau of Fisheries also began to use aircraft for fishery patrols in 1929, chartering a [[seaplane]] from [[Alaska-Washington Airways]] to experiment with aerial patrols over Alaskan waters.<ref name=afscaircraft>[https://www.afsc.noaa.gov/History/tech/aircraft.htm NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center AFSC Historical Corner:  Aircraft for Enforcement, Surveying & Transportation]</ref> The aerial patrols were successful, and regular aerial patrols by Bureau of Fisheries agents using chartered aircraft began in 1930.<ref name=afscaircraft/> The patrols focused on Southeast Alaska,<ref name=afscaircraft/> and by 1939 logged an annual total of {{convert|6,859|mi|km}} in 64 hours of flying.<ref name=afscaircraft/>

The fishery enforcement vessels and aircraft also provided transportation to Bureau of Fisheries personnel and assisted in the Bureau's scientific activities in Alaska.<ref name=afscearly/><ref name=afscaircraft/> In 1940, the Fish and Wildlife Service took over the fleet of patrol boats and the aerial patrol mission, and continued fishery enforcement operations, including the use of stream watchmen, wardens, and chartered boat operators. When Alaska became a state on January 3, 1959, it began to assume the responsibility for fishery protection in its waters like any other [[U.S. state]].<ref name=afscearly/><ref name=afscaircraft/> The Fish and Wildlife Service's role in fishery enforcement in Alaska came to an end on December 31, 1959;<ref name="Circular 97, p. 20">Circular 97, p. 20.</ref> on January 1, 1960, the State of Alaska assumed full responsibility for fishery protection in its waters.<ref name=circ97p19/> The Fish and Wildlife Service transferred many of its patrol boats to the State of Alaska and refocused its resources on its scientific mission.<ref name=afscearly/>

====Elsewhere====
In 1906, the Bureau of Fisheries became responsible for the enforcement of a law intended to regulate the taking of [[sponge]]s in the [[Gulf of Mexico]] and off the coasts of [[Florida]].<ref name=circ97p5/> It added the enforcement of a law governing the interstate transportation of [[Micropterus|black bass]] in 1930.<ref name=circ97p5/> Under the Fishery Cooperative Marketing Act of June 4, 1935—an [[act of Congress]] authorizing cooperative associations of producers of aquatic products<ref name=circ97p5/>—the Bureau became responsible for administering the act, maintaining contact with fishery [[cooperative]]s, and advising the cooperatives.<ref name=circ97p5/> In 1936 it became responsible for certain functions related to the [[Whaling Treaty Act]].<ref name=circ97p5/>

===Pribilof Islands and Pribilof tenders===
[[File:Fur seals in rookery Pribilof Islands 1950s.PNG|thumb|[[Fur seal]]s in a [[rookery]] in the [[Pribilof Islands]] in the 1950s.]]
On April 21, 1910, the [[United States Congress]] assigned the responsibility for the management and harvest of [[northern fur seal]]s, [[fox]]es, and other [[fur]]-bearing animals in the [[Pribilof Islands]] in the [[Bering Sea]],<ref name=circ97p5/><ref name=pribiloftenders>{{cite web |url=https://www.afsc.noaa.gov/History/vessels/pribilof_tenders.htm |publisher=AFSC Historical Corner |title=The Pribilof Islands Tender Vessels |access-date=September 4, 2018}}</ref> as well as for the care, education, and welfare of the [[Aleut people|Aleut]] communities in the islands, to the Bureau of Fisheries.<ref name=pribiloftenders/> Under the protection and management first of the Bureau of Fisheries and later of the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Pribilof fur seal herd grew from 150,000 animals in 1911 to 1,500,000 in 1960.<ref name="Circular 97, p. 20"/>

To support the local Aleut community, the Bureau initially chartered commercial vessels to transport passengers and cargo to, from, and between the Pribilofs,<ref name=pribiloftenders/> but by 1915 it had decided that a more cost-effective means of serving the islands would be to own and operate its own "Pribilof [[Ship's tender|tender]],"<ref name=pribiloftenders/> a dedicated [[cargo liner]] responsible for transportation to, from, and between the islands.<ref name=pribiloftenders/> Its first Pribilof tender, {{SS|Roosevelt|1905|6}}, operated from 1917 to 1919;<ref>[https://www.afsc.noaa.gov/History/vessels/boats/roosevelt.htm afsc.noaa.gov AFSC Historical Corner: ''Roosevelt'',  Bureau's First Pribilof Tender Retrieved September 8, 2018]</ref> she was followed by {{MV|Eider||6}} from 1919 to 1930,<ref name=mveider>[https://www.afsc.noaa.gov/History/vessels/boats/eider.htm afsc.noaa.gov AFSC Historical Corner: ''Eider'', Pribilof Tender and Patrol Vessel Retrieved September 7, 2018]</ref> and {{MV|Penguin||6}}, which began operations in 1930.<ref name=mvpenguin>[https://www.afsc.noaa.gov/History/vessels/boats/penguin.htm afsc.noaa.gov AFSC Historical Corner: ''Penguin'', Pribilof Tender for 20 Years (1930–50) Retrieved September 7, 2018]</ref>

[[File:Flag of the United States Commissioner of Fisheries.svg|150px|thumb|right|Flag of the United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries]]

The operation of "Pribilof tenders" continued under the Bureau of Fisheries' successor organizations, with the Fish and Wildlife Service employing MV ''Penguin'' on this service until 1950,<ref name=mvpenguin/> followed by {{MV|Penguin II||}} from 1950 to 1963,<ref name=mvpenguinii>[https://www.afsc.noaa.gov/History/vessels/boats/penguin2.htm AFSC Historical Corner: ''Penguin II'',  Pribilof Islands Tender (1950-64) Retrieved September 6, 2018]</ref> {{MV|Dennis Winn||6}}, which supplemented ''Penguin II''{{'}}s service during the 1950s,<ref>[https://www.afsc.noaa.gov/History/vessels/boats/winn.htm AFSC Historical Corner: ''Dennis Winn'', Auxiliary Pribilof Tender in the 1950s Retrieved September 10, 2018]</ref> and {{MV|Pribilof||6}}, which entered service in 1963 and continued to serve the Pribilofs after the creation of the NMFS in 1970.<ref name=afscmvpribilof>[https://www.afsc.noaa.gov/History/vessels/boats/pribilof.htm AFSC Historical Corner: ''Pribilof'',  Bureau's Last Pribilof Tender (1964-75) Retrieved September 4, 2018]</ref> The 58-year history of the "Pribilof tenders" did not come to a close until 1975, when the NMFS retired and sold ''Pribilof'' as part of a process of turning control of the local government and economy of the Pribilof Islands to their residents.<ref name=afscmvpribilof/>

==U.S. Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries==
The '''United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries''' oversaw the U.S. Fish Commission (1871–1903) and the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries (1903–1940). The following served as Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries:

{| class="wikitable sortable"
!width="25" style="text-align:center" | No.
!width="75" style="text-align:center" | Portrait 
!width="125" style="text-align:center" | Name
!width="75" style="text-align:center" | Tenure
!width="900" style="text-align:center" | Notes
|-
|style="text-align:center"|1
|style="text-align:center"|[[File:Portrait of Spencer Fullerton Baird - 1867.jpg|75px]]
|style="text-align:center"|[[Spencer Fullerton Baird]] {{nowrap|(1823–1887)}}
|style="text-align:center"|1871–1887
|[[Naturalist]], [[ornithologist]], [[ichthyologist]], [[Herpetology|herpetologist]], and museum [[curator]], and the first curator to be named at the [[Smithsonian Institution]]. The founding commissioner of the Fish Commission, he was highly active in developing fishing and fishery policies for the United States, and was instrumental in making [[Woods Hole]] a research venue for [[marine biology]]. Died in office.
|-
|style="text-align:center"|2
|style="text-align:center"|[[File:Goode G Brown 1851-1896.jpg|75px]]
|style="text-align:center"|[[George Brown Goode|G. Brown Goode]] {{nowrap|(1851–1896)}}
|style="text-align:center"|1887–1888
|[[Ichthyologist]], museum administrator, and prolific writer who worked for the Fish Commission from 1872 to 1888. From 1873 to 1887 organized and administered the [[Biology|biological]] and fishery development research of the Fish Commission and ordered and developed the [[Taxonomy|taxonomic]] and ichthyologic work of both the Fish Commission and the [[Smithsonian Institution]]. Left the Fish Commission in 1888 to become an assistant secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.<ref>[https://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/historymakers/goode/welcome.html#admin NOAA 200th Top Tens: History Makers: George Brown Goode: Eminent 19th Century Fish Scientist Accessed 13 November 2022]</ref>
|-
|style="text-align:center"|3
|style="text-align:center"|[[File:Hon. Marshall McDonald.jpg|75px]]
|style="text-align:center"|[[Marshall McDonald]] {{nowrap|(1835–1895)}}
|style="text-align:center"|1888–1895
|[[Engineer]], [[geologist]], [[mineralogist]], [[Fish farming|fish culturist]], and [[Fisheries science|fisheries scientist]]. Inventor of the [[fish ladder]] and of a number of fish-hatching apparatuses. Worked for the Fish Commission from 1879 to 1895. Died in office.
|-style="background:#e6e6aa;"
|style="text-align:center"|–
|style="text-align:center"|
|style="text-align:center"|[[Herbert A. Gill]]
|style="text-align:center"|1895–1896
|The Fish Commission's chief clerk, Gill served as acting commissioner between the death of Marshall McDonald and the arrival of John J. Brice.
|-
|style="text-align:center"|4
|style="text-align:center"|[[File:John J. Brice.PNG|75px]]
|style="text-align:center"|[[John J. Brice]] {{nowrap|(1841–1912)}}
|style="text-align:center"|1896–1898
|Retired [[United States Navy]] officer with a sound administrative ability and a keen interest in the propagation of [[salmon]] on the [[United States West Coast]].<ref>[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/The_American_angler_%28IA_americanangler261896harr%29.pdf "The New Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries," ''The American Angler'', April 1896, p. 130.]</ref> Reoriented the Fish Commission's priorities around the propagation of commercially important [[species]].<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31822025473026&view=1up&seq=15&q1=Brice ''Report of the Commissioner for the Year Ending June 30, 1896'' Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1898, p. 1.]</ref>
|-
|style="text-align:center"|5
|style="text-align:center"|[[File:FMIB 44180 Hon Geo M Bowers, Present Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries (cropped).jpeg|75px]]
|style="text-align:center"|[[George Meade Bowers|George M. Bowers]] {{nowrap|(1863–1925)}}
|style="text-align:center"|1898–1913
|[[Banking|Banker]] and [[politician]] who later represented [[West Virginia]]'s [[West Virginia's 2nd congressional district|2nd district]] in the [[United States House of Representatives]] from 1916 to 1923.<ref name = BDUSC>{{cite web | url = https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/Home/MemberDetails?memIndex=B000690 | work = Biographical Directory of the United States Congress 1774 to present | access-date = 9 February 2020 | title = BOWERS, George Meade (1863-1925) | publisher =  U.S. Senate Historical Office}}</ref>
|-
|style="text-align:center"|6
|style="text-align:center"|[[File:HM Smith.jpg|75px]]
|style="text-align:center"|[[Hugh McCormick Smith|Hugh M. Smith]] {{nowrap|(1865–1941)}}
|style="text-align:center"|1913–1922
|[[Physician]], educator, ichthyologist, and writer who worked for the Fish Commission and Bureau of Fisheries from 1886 to 1922. Directed the Fish Commission's scientific research from 1897 to 1903 and was deputy commissioner of fish and fisheries from 1903 to 1913. After leaving the Bureau, served as the first director general of [[Thailand]]'s Department of Fisheries,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www4.fisheries.go.th/index.php/dof/main|title=ประวัติกรมประมง|publisher=Department of Fisheries|access-date=11 June 2016|language=th}}</ref> then as curator of [[zoology]] at the Smithsonian Institution.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://library.si.edu/digital-library/book/annualreportofbo1932smit|title = Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution 1932|year = 1846}}</ref>
|-
|style="text-align:center"|7
|style="text-align:center"|[[File:Henry O'Malley 13 May 1922.PNG|75px]]
|style="text-align:center"|[[Henry O'Malley]] {{nowrap|(1876–1936)}}
|style="text-align:center"|1922–1933
|[[Fish farming|Fish culturist]] employed by the Fish Commission and Bureau of Fisheries from 1897 to 1934. Noted for his leadership as commissioner in protecting the American [[fishing industry]] and fish [[Spawn (biology)|spawning]] grounds, especially the rehabilitation of depleted fishery resources in the [[Columbia River]] and the [[Territory of Alaska]], as well as Alaska's [[fur seal]] resources.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Anonymous |date=May 1, 1936 |title=Passing of Former United States Commissioner of Fisheries Henry O'Malley |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924066689229&view=1up&seq=631&skin=2021&q1=Henry%20O%27Malley |number=252 |journal=Fisheries Service Bulletin |publisher=[[United States Department of Commerce]] |page=1 |access-date=December 23, 2021}}</ref> 
|-
|style="text-align:center"|8
|style="text-align:center"|[https://iphc.int/menubar/164-off--1-1-1507742968.jpg Photo]
|style="text-align:center"|[[Frank T. Bell]] {{nowrap|(1883–1970)}}
|style="text-align:center"|1933–1939
|[[Hotel]] and [[restaurant]] owner and operator who was politically active and an avid [[Recreational fishing|recreational fisherman]] and [[Hunting|hunter]] with an interest in [[nature conservation]].<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924066689229&view=1up&seq=325&q1=Frank%20T.%20Bell Anonymous, "Appointment of Frank T. Bell as Commissioner," ''Fisheries Service Bulletin'', May 1, 1933, p. 1.]</ref> Successful as commissioner in making the Bureau of Fisheries more efficient and in increasing cooperation on fishery issues among [[United States government]] agencies and between them and [[U.S. state]] governments.<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924066689229&view=1up&seq=927&q1=Frank%20T.%20Bell Anonymous, "Commissioner Frank T. Bell Resigns," ''Fisheries Service Bulletin'', February 1, 1939, pp. 1–2.]</ref>
|-style="background:#e6e6aa;"
|style="text-align:center"|–
|style="text-align:center"|
|style="text-align:center"|Charles E. Jackson
|style="text-align:center"|1939–1940
|Deputy Commissioner Jackson served as acting commissioner between the departure of Frank T. Bell and the abolition of the Bureau of Fisheries.
|- class=sortbottom
!scope=row colspan=5 | '''Sources:'''<ref>[https://archive.org/details/fisherycircular145unit/page/120 Galtsoff, Paul S., ''The Story of the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Biological Laboratory Woods Hole, Massachusetts'', Circular 145, Washington, D.C., 1962, p. 115.]</ref><ref>[http://penbay.org/cof/cof_1896.pdf ''Report of the United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1896'', Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1897, p. 1.]</ref><ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924066689229&view=1up&seq=927&q1=Frank%20T.%20Bell Anonymous, "Commissioner Frank T. Bell Resigns," ''Fisheries Service Bulletin'', February 1, 1939, p. 1.]</ref>
|}

==Fleet==
The U.S. Fish Commission operated five ships. They used the prefix "USFC" while in commission. The Bureau of Fisheries inherited all five USFC ships, and its fleet expanded during the early 20th century. Its ships were given the prefix "USFS" while in commission, derived from an alternative name, "United States Fisheries Service," sometimes used for the Bureau. Although there were occasional exceptions (such as {{ship|USFC|Grampus||2}}, {{ship|USFS|Red Wing||2}}, and ''[[SS Roosevelt (1905)|Roosevelt]]''), the Fish Commission and Bureau of Fisheries custom was to name vessels after aquatic birds.

The later organizational history of the fleet paralleled that of the history of the Bureau's successor organizations. In 1940, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) took over the Bureau of Fisheries fleet, and when the FWS was reorganized as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in 1956, its seagoing ships were assigned to the USFWS's new Bureau of Commercial Fisheries (BCF), which inherited the history and heritage of the Fish Commission and Bureau of Fisheries. When the [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (NOAA) was created in 1970, its [[National Marine Fisheries Service]] (NMFS) was considered the successor to the BCF, and the NMFS took control of what had been the BCF's fleet. NMFS-controlled ships then were united with ships of other agencies to form a [[NOAA ships and aircraft|unified NOAA fleet]] via a phased process during 1972–1973. The Fish Commission and Bureau of Fisheries fleets therefore are among the ancestors of today's NOAA fleet.

A partial list of the ships of the U.S. Fish Commission (USFC) and U.S. Bureau of Fisheries (BOF):

* [[USS Albatross (1882)|USFC (later USFS) ''Albatros'']] (research vessel with USFC 1882–April 1898 and August 1898 – 1903, then BOF 1903–1917 and 1919–1924)
* {{ship|USFS|Albatross II}} (research vessel, BOF 1926–1932)
* {{ship|USFS|Auklet}} (patrol vessel, BOF 1917–1940; then FWS 1940–1950)
* {{ship|USFS|Blue Wing}} (patrol vessel, BOF 1924–1940; then FWS 1940–1950s)
* {{ship|USFS|Brant}} (patrol vessel, BOF 1926–1940; then FWS 1940–1953)
* {{ship|USFS|Crane}} (patrol vessel, BOF 1928–1940; then FWS 1940–1960)
* {{ship|USFS|Curlew}} ([[fish culture]] vessel, BOF 1919–1937/1938)
* [[MV Eider|USFS ''Eider'']] (Pribilof tender and patrol vessel, BOF 1919–1940; then FWS 1940–1942 and 1946–late 1940s)
* [[USFC Fish Hawk|USFC (later USFS) ''Fish Hawk'']] (research and hatchery vessel, USFC 1880–May 1898 and September 1898 – 1903, then BOF 1903–1918 and 1919–1926)
* [[USS Wachusetts (SP-548)|USFS ''Fulmar'']] (research vessel, BOF 1919–1933/1934)
* [[USFC Grampus|USFC (later USFS) ''Grampus'']] (research and fish-culture vessel, USFC 1886–1903, then BOF 1903–1917)
* {{ship|USFS|Halcyon}} (research vessel, BOF 1919–1927)
* {{ship|USFS|Kittiwake}} (patrol vessel, BOF 1919–1940; then FWS 1940–late 1940s)
* {{ship|USFS|Merganser}} (patrol vessel, BOF 1919–1940; then FWS 1940–ca. 1942–1943)
* {{ship|USFS|Murre}} (patrol vessel, BOF 1917–1940; then FWS 1940–1942)
* {{ship|USFS|Osprey}} (patrol vessel, BOF 1913–1921)
* {{ship|USFS|Pelican}} (research and patrol vessel, BOF 1930–1940; then FWS/USFWS 1940–1958, NMFS ca. 1970/1971 to 1972)
* [[MV Penguin|USFS ''Penguin'']] (Pribilof tender, BOF 1930–1940; then FWS 1940–1950)
* {{ship|USFS|Petrel}} (patrol vessel, BOF 1919–1934)
* [[USFC Phalarope|USFC (later USFS) ''Phalarope'']] (research and fish-culture vessel, USFC 1900–1903, then BOF 1903–1932/1933)
* {{ship|USFS|Red Wing}} (patrol vessel, BOF 1928–1939)
* [[SS Roosevelt (1905)|USFS ''Roosevelt'']] (Pribilof tender, BOF 1915–1919)
* {{ship|USFS|Scoter}} (patrol vessel, BOF 1922–1940; then FWS 1940–1949)
* {{ship|USFS|Teal}} (patrol vessel, BOF 1928–1940; then FWS/USFWS 1940–1960)
* {{ship|USFS|Widgeon}} (patrol vessel, BOF 1919–1940; then FWS 1940–ca. 1944–1945)

==Gallery==
{{Gallery
|width=200
|height=160
|align=center
|File:RV Fish Hawk.jpg|USFC ''Fish Hawk'', {{Circa|1900}}.
|File:RV Fish Hawk pilot.jpg|Hoist and winch on ''Fish Hawk'', used by Commissioner [[Spencer Fullerton Baird]] and Professor [[Addison Emery Verrill]] in exploration of the [[New England]] coast, {{Circa|1885}}.
|File:Albatross-ii.jpg|USFC ''Albatross'' in the 1890s.
|File:PSM V41 D625 Us fish commission buildings at woods hole mass.jpg|[[Marine Biological Laboratory|Fish Commission buildings and docks]] at [[Woods Hole, Massachusetts|Woods Hole]], [[Massachusetts]], {{Circa|1892}}.
|File:Scientific buildings and U. S. Bureau of Fisheries, Woods Hole, Cape Cod, Mass (70600).jpg|Postcard of U.S. Bureau of Fisheries buildings at Woods Hole, from sometime between {{Circa|1930}} and {{Circa|1945}}.
|File:Peary's steamer Roosevelt, Hudson-Fulton Parade.jpg|{{SS|Roosevelt|1905|6}} in 1909, prior to her 1917–1919 service as the "Pribilof tender."
|File:MV Eider in 1920.JPG|{{ship|USFS|Eider||6}}, "Pribilof tender" from 1919 to 1930.
|File:MV Penguin in 1931.JPG|[[USFS Penguin|USFS/US FWS ''Penguin'']], "Pribilof tender" from 1930 to 1950.
|File:MV Penguin baidar 1939.JPG|{{ship|USFS|Penguin||6}} (background) at anchor in the [[Bering Sea]] in 1939 while she unloads off [[St. George Island (Alaska)|St. George Island]] in the [[Pribilof Islands]].
}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== General and cited references ===
* Aller, Barbara A. (December 1958). [https://spo.nmfs.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/legacy-pdfs/SSRF284.pdf ''Publications of the United States Bureau of Fisheries 1871–1940'', Special Scientific Report–Fisheries No. 284]. United States Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C.
* Day, Albert M. (March 1950). [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015042201445&view=1up&seq=163&skin=2021 "The Fish and Wildlife Service—Ten Years of Progress"], ''Commercial Fisheries Review''.
* [https://spo.nmfs.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/legacy-pdfs/CIRC97.pdf "The United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Its Responsibiliies and Functions"], Circular 97, United States Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C., December 1960

== External links ==
{{NSRW Poster|Fish-Culture|United States Fish Commission}}
* {{Commons category inline|United States Bureau of Fisheries}}

{{United States Fish Commissioners}}
{{Pribilof tenders}}
{{United States government agencies involved in environmental science}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1871 establishments in the United States|Fish Commission]]
[[Category:1940 disestablishments in the United States|Fish Commission]]
[[Category:Agencies of the United States government|Fish Commission]]
[[Category:Fisheries agencies]]
[[Category:Fisheries science]]
[[Category:Government agencies disestablished in 1940]]
[[Category:Government agencies established in 1871]]
[[Category:History of fishing]]
[[Category:United States Department of Commerce|Fish Commission]]
[[Category:United States Department of the Interior|Fish Commission]]