(5) 5. Fishery research: Fiscal year 1970, $4,410,000; fiscal year 1971, $4,674,000; increase, $264,000. The increase consists of: Explanation For operation of new fa- For operation of new fa- To initiate a study of To develop and initiate a method for collection of catch statistics of marine sport fish, at Narragansett Marine Game Fish Lab., Rhode Island. Compensation for stand-by duty of permanent employees. Cost Factors Involved in Increases (1) Two permanent positions at an average annual rate of $10,000, $20,000; seasonal labor (2 man-years) $10,000; increased operating expenses and program costs, $20,000. (2) Three permanent positions at an average annual rate of $14,000, $42,000; seasonal labor (1.3 man-years) $8,000; new operating expenses and program costs, $25,000. (3) Three permanent positions at an average annual rate of $10,000, $30,000; seasonal labor (3 man-years) $15,000; program costs including vessel charter $30,000. (4) Two permanent positions at an average annual rate of $10,000, $20,000; program costs including contracted research $30,000. (5) Stand-by duty pay at four laboratories and one field station, $14,000. Need for increase: (1) Eastern Fish Nutrition Laboratory, Cortland, New York $50,000 and 2 permanent positions. The increase is needed for added operating costs of new facilities and a start on the expanded operations for which the new facilities were provided. The new laboratory, completed in September 1969, requires more funds to operate for heat, light and custodial services than the smaller laboratory which it replaced. In addition to continuing studies on the nutritional requirements and the physiology and metabolism of trouts, a new study on the effects of environmental factors on trout growth will be started. (2) Eastern Gulf Marine Laboratory, Panama City, Florida - $75,000 and 3 permanent positions. These funds will be used for operation of the new facility to be completed in F.Y. 1970. In addition to providing for operation and maintenance, funds will permit hiring the nucleus staff; small billfish and estuarine studies will be carried on, and a 42-foot research vessel will be operated. (3) Tiburon Marine Laboratory, Tiburon, California - $75,000 and 3 permanent positions. These funds are for studies of the marine game fishes of the California Current. The program will determine predator-prey relationships, seasonal movement and occurrence of the game fish and their forage, and the extent and seasonality of the offshore sport fishery (to be coordinated with the Narragansett Marine Game Fish Laboratory statistics program) of the California Current ecosystem. In addition, a study of the cold water reef sport fisheries of the northern coastal areas will be initiated. With these added programs, our effectiveness in providing information leading toward better management of Pacific marine game fishes will be substantially increased. (4) Narragansett Marine Game Fish Laboratory, Rhode Island - $50,000 and two permanent positions. These funds are needed for the marine game fish statistics program. The methods currently in use and the statistics now being collected will be evaluated and a contract proposal will be solicited for research leading to the development of uniform methods for collecting marine game fish statistics. Methods developed will be capable of management by the States with a possible coordinate role played by the Bureau. From this study will come the economic baseline on which decisions concerning management of marine game fishes depend. (5) Standby duty - $14,000. Standby duty pay for permanent employees at four laboratories and at one field station, remaining in on offical duty status beyond normal work hours. Program of work: The estimate of $4,674,000 provides for a broadly based fishery research program whose objective is to provide the new knowledge needed for the development of improved methods of managing sport fishery resources. Fishery managers seek to improve sport fishing by making maximum use of the natural productive capacity of waters and, when necessary, supplement natural production with hatchery produced fish. Improvement in the former calls for knowledge about the fish and the web of life it interacts within its environment--i.e., the fish ecosystem. Improvements in the latter call for knowledge of a different sort--the husbandry sciences, nutrition, diseases, genetics, and the technologies associated with these basic sciences--all of which bear on the extensive, artificial rearing of animals. In addition to these research areas, the fishery manager, and all officials responsible for control of environmental pollution, need information concerning the unintended but adverse consequences of pesticide usage on the sport fishery resource so that proper regulations can be established. The $4,674,000 is budgeted to these three research activities as follows: Fish ecosystem research. The program of work in fish ecosystems includes freshwater reservoir and marine research. The reservoir program is located on the Missouri River in South Dakota, and on the White River in Arkansas and Missouri. The research conducted includes studies of life histories, population dynamics, and environmental requirements of reservoir fishes and the food organisms on which they |