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The
National Marine Fisheries Service dates from 1871. It
is America's oldest
conservation agency being formed specifically "for the Protection
and Preservation of the Food Fishes of the Coast of the United States."
Under the guidance of Spencer Fullerton Baird, first head of the Commission
of Fish and Fisheries, the new agency began the study of factors affecting
the fisheries of the United States including ecology,habitat, physical
oceanography, and the myriad other factors that affect the marine environment.
Fisheries ships have plied the waters of our coasts as well as the deep
sea , studied the fisheries of the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, and protected
many of the marine fish and mammals that make up our living marine resources.
The laboratories of the National Marine Fisheries service have been
dedicated to understanding the science of these resources, understanding
the complex relationships between marine animals and their environment,
and helping understand the inter-relationships of man and the marine
enviroment. This is the legacy of the people, ships, and laboratories
that have worked to understand and conserve our living marine resources.
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Spencer Baird's Legacy
History of NOAA's Fisheries from its beginnings thru the present
era.
(NOAA NE Fisheries Science Center, Woods Hole)
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A
Century of Conservation
On February 9, 1871, President Grant signed a bill recognizing
a national interest in fisheries conservation by creating the
independent Office of Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, also
sometimes known as the Fish Commission - the roots of today's
NOAA's Marine Fisheries.
(NOAA NE Fisheries Science Center, Woods Hole)
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The Story of the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Biological Laboratory
Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Settled in the mid-17th century, Woods Hole grew from
a quiet little harbor town to become major hub of scientific fisheries
research.
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History of the National Marine Fisheries Service at Fort Crockett,
Galveston, Texas
History of Fort Crockett from the late 1890's through the beginnings
of fishery research use in the 1950s.
(NOAA Fisheries Galveston Laboratory)
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History
of the Federal Fisheries Laboratory at Beaufort, North Carolina
Originally
a field station in the mid-1800s for persons interested in marine
biology, it wasn't until 1899 that a fisheries laboratory was
established.
(NOAA Fisheries Beaufort Laboratory)
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