NOAA
Fisheries is a descendant of the Office of the Commissioner
of Fish and Fisheries which was established on February 9, 1871. This
office and its ancestor agencies such as the Bureau of Commercial
Fisheries and today’s National Marine Fisheries Service, had
their roots in the vision of Spencer Fullerton Baird, second Secretary
of the Smithsonian Institution and first Commissioner of Fish and
Fisheries. One of the primary missions of NOAA Fisheries has changed
little since 1871 – the Protection and Preservation of the Food
Fishes of the United States – but many additional duties have
accrued including protection of endangered species such as many varieties
of marine mammals and sea turtles.
Since
the time of the establishment of this first marine conservation agency,
NOAA Fisheries has conducted research in all the major fisheries of
the United States, from Maine to Texas, and California to northern
Alaska. Fisheries research ships have sailed throughout much of the
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans; fisheries laboratories have been established
in many regions of the United States; and fisheries policy-makers
in cooperation with stakeholders have helped manage our fisheries
resources.
Trek
along with the Fisheries Service as it studies, protects, and manages
our marine resources….
