Download The Great Lakes have a connected water area of 95,170 square

BUREAU OF COMMERCIAL FISHERIES
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Architect's sketch of Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Research Laboratory, Ann Arbor, Michigan
The Great Lakes have a connected water
area of 95,170 square miles. Each lake
stratifies thermally and has at least partial
ice cover in winter. Other physical, chemical, and biological characteristics vary
widely among the five lakes and to a large
extent within each of them. The deepest
and largest, Lake Superior, has an average
depth of 487 feet (maximum, 1,333); an
area of 31,820 square miles; average maximum surface water temperature, 66°F; dissolved solids, 60 p.p.m.; and an annual
commercial fish production of less than 1
pound per acre. Corresponding data for
Lake Erie, the shallowest, are: average
depth, 58 feet (maximum 210); area, 9,930
square miles; average maximum surface
water temperature, 78°F; dissolved solids
about 200 p.p.m.; and average fish production about 7 pounds per acre. Fishes
produced in the Great Lakes are primarily
from the genera Coregonus, Perca, Slizostedion, Salvelinus, and in recent years,
Osmenis; total commercial production
(U. S. and Canada) is seldom less than
100,000,000 pounds per year.
Federal research in fisheries and limnology on the Great Lakes has been continuous since establishment of the laboratory
in 1927. Since its inception, the work has
been carried out in close cooperation with
the University of Michigan, and the facility's headquarters have been on the University campus. The original small staff
has increased to a current full-time complement of 90, of whom 50 are fishery biologists.
The laboratory's biological research is
directed primarily toward development of
a basic understanding of Great Lakes fish
stocks — the life history, ecology, and interrelations of different species; factors of fluctuations in growth and abundance; and
the effects of the environment and of varying rates of exploitation. Since 1949, a
major portion of the effort has been concerned with studies of the effects of predation by the sea lamprey, Petromyzon mari?ius, on fishes in Lakes Superior, Huron,
and Michigan; the development of
methods for its control; the experimental
application of control methods; and the
rehabilitation of stocks of lake trout, Salvelinus namaycush, which the sea lamprey
brought to commercial extinction. A
second major field of study has been the
relation of recent pronounced changes in
the limnology of certain waters and the
accompanying major shifts of species
abundance.
Address the Director, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Biological Laboratory,
1220 East Washington Street, P. O. Box
640, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY,
AUKE BAY, ALASKA
Dr. George Y. Harry, Director
This laboratory serves as research headquarters for the Bureau in Alaska. It is
located in Southeastern Alaska 12 miles
north of Juneau, the State Capital. Completed in 1960, the two-story building
houses facilities for controlled experiments
relating to the biology and physiology of
fish and shellfish in fresh and salt water.
Nearby Auke Lake and Mendenhall Lake
serve as natural fresh-water experimental
areas, while adjacent Auke Bay is used for
estuarine studies.
The Laboratory also houses a growing
reference collection of over 300 species of
fresh- and salt-water fishes and shellfishes
native to Alaskan waters. Other facilities
include a comprehensive scientific library,
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BUREAU OF COMMERCIAL FISHERIES
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Bureau o[ Commercial Fisheries Biological Laboratory, Auke Bay, Alaska
a complete water chemistry laboratory,
photographic dark room, and statistical
section with IBM card processing equipment. The building also contains office
and laboratory space for about 30 scientists
and 12 supporting personnel. In addition,
the Bureau maintains an 86-foot power
barge fitted out for oceanographic investigations now being conducted throughout
Southeastern Alaska waters by laboratory
personnel.
Other investigations currently under way
include studies of the physical, chemical,
and biological factors affecting the freshwater and early marine survival of Pacific
salmon, studies of the population dynamics
and biology of the commercially important
shrimp species and king crab in Alaska,
and a study of the effects of DDT appli-
cation as a forest insecticide on salmon
survival in southeastern Alaskan streams.
The area adjacent to the laboratory includes a variety of ecological situations in
terrestrial and aquatic environments. Alpine tundra, Sitka spruce rain forests, glacial out-wash plains, glaciers, and permanent snow fields all lie within easy access
from the laboratory. Clear and glacial
lakes, ponds, short coastal streams and
rivers provide a variety of fresh-water environments for study. The many estuaries,
islands, and miles of beaches afford numerous opportunities for those wishing to
study intertidal and marine environments.
Visiting investigators are welcome. Laboratory facilities usually are available from
June to the end of August, a time when
many resident biologists conduct their
BUREAU OF COMMERCIAL FISHERIES
studies at various field stations located
throughout the State. Living accommodations may be obtained either in Juneau
or in the smaller communities of Douglas
or Auke Bay. Reservations for housing
should be made well in advance of the proposed field season. Often arrangements can
be made through the laboratory staff to
rent from resident biologists spending the
summer at outlying field stations. Investigators considering southeastern Alaska as
a study area should include at least 25%
addition to their cost-of-living budget over
other regions of the United States.
Juneau can be reached by air or water
but not directly by car. Several commercial
airlines and a state-operated marine highway system provide regularly scheduled
service. Ferries with automobile facilities
connect with the Alcan Highway at
Haines, and there is ferry service from
Prince Rupert.
Address the Director, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Biological Laboratory,
P. O. Box 1155, Auke Bay, Alaska.
BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY,
STANFORD, CALIFORNIA
Dr. O. E. Sette, Director
This laboratory is engaged in the study
of ocean-wide, medium-term changes in the
oceanographic conditions in the Pacific
Ocean, the processes that cause them, and
the effects they have on the abundance of
Pacific marine fish populations. The Laboratory uses published and unpublished
time-series data on the atmosphere, ocean,
and fisheries. It does not engage in collection of data, but is assembling an extensive
"library" of published and unpublished
data of this description.
The Laboratory is located in the School
of Biological Sciences on the Stanford University campus. No space is available for
visiting scientists.
Address the Director, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Biological Laboratory,
450 B Jordan Hall, Stanford, California.
377
Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Biological Laboratory, La Jolla, California
BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY,
LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA
Dr. Elbert H. Ahlstrom, Director
This laboratory at present is housed in
a two-story white frame house on the
campus of the University of California at
San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography. A new modern laboratory for
which plans are almost completed should
be ready for occupancy in early 1964.
The San Diego area has become one of
the leading fishery research centers in the
United States. Within easy commuting distance of each other are two laboratories
of the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, the
Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, Scripps Tuna Oceanography Research, and the Marine Life Research Program of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. All except the last-named will be
housed in the new laboratory. In addition,
the new building will provide generous
facilities for visiting scientists interested in
studying marine life.
The Laboratory is investigating population dynamics of pelagic fishes, particularly
the Pacific sardine and ecologically associated species including northern anchovy,
Pacific mackerel, and jack mackerel. Research on the sardine and related species
forms part of the California Cooperative
Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI).