William Francis Thompson and the dawn of marine fisheries research in California

Marine Fisheries Review, Spring, 2001 by J. Richard Dunn

Introduction

As concern increased in Canada over the consequences of World War I, the Province of British Columbia terminated fisheries research in 1917. William Francis Thompson (1888-1965), with the aid of Charles Henry Gilbert (1859-1928) and others, sought other work in fisheries. (1,2) With high recommendations from Gilbert, Thompson was hired to a temporary position in 1917 by the California Fish and Game Commission. (3,4 Thompson then became important in the burgeoning field of marine fisheries research in California. By the time Thompson left California some eight years later, he had established the commission's first marine fisheries laboratory and was instrumental in creating one of the finest state fisheries agencies in the nation (Bryant, 1921, 1924; Dunn, 2001a, b).

This article concerns Thompson's efforts to usher in marine fisheries research in California from 1917 to 1925. He initiated research programs first on the albacore tuna, Thunnus alalunga, and then on the Pacific sardine, Sardinops sagax. It was during his California period that Thompson developed his research approach of studying the fisheries directly, rather than studying the environment (Kendall and Duker, 1998). Thompson helped found and then directed the commission's first marine fisheries research laboratory. He was responsible for hiring a staff of scientists, many of whom subsequently became renowned for their work in fisheries research. This was also a period when Thompson became cognizant of the politics of the commercial fishing industry as well as the political aspects of working for a government organization. Thompson left the state agency in 1925 to become the Director of Investigations of the newly formed International Fisheries Commission (now the International Pacific Halibut Commission), which was charged with managing the Pacific halibut, Hippoglossus stenolepis.

This paper is based primarily on Thompson's published work and his personal papers in the archives of the University of Washington Libraries and the archives of the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences (U.W.), Seattle, Wash. Other sources consulted include the Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif., and the files of the International Pacific Halibut Commission, Seattle.

Thompson at the California Fish and Game Commission

Thompson was hired in 1917 by Norman Bishop Scofield (1869-1958), the Director of the recently formed Department of Commercial Fisheries in the California Fish and Game Commission (Clark, 1982; Smith, 1994). (5) Thompson began work on 1 June in Long Beach, California, with a mandate to investigate commercially important marine fishes (Scofield, 1918). (6, 7) The albacore tuna was the object of initial studies by Thompson (Scofield, 1917d). The oceanside residence used as his office was called initially the Long Beach Laboratory and later the California State Fisheries Laboratory. Thompson was in charge of the "Laboratory." (8)

The California tuna pack (mostly albacore) in 1916 was the largest on record. Nearly a half-million cans were processed, exceeding the sardine production by a factor of two. Some 397 fishing boats were employed in the tuna fishery, mainly off southern California. There were reports, however, that the abundance of albacore was less than it was the previous year (Scofield, 1917a, b).

In the early part of the 20th century certain prestigious scientists argued that because of their high fecundity it was impossible for many marine fishes to be overfished (Fig. 1-4). (9) Thompson knew better, based on his experience with the Pacific halibut. The potential problem of albacore overharvest was one of the first questions Thompson encountered in his new work (Thompson, 1919b). He understood, however, that "proof" of overharvest would have to be demonstrated again and again for each fishery (Thompson, 1922a).

[FIGURES 1-4 OMITTED]

Thompson began his work on the albacore. A fishery data collection method, called the "pink ticket" system, was established in 1915 by the state legislature (Anonymous, 1918a; Scofield, 1918). (10) These statistics provided the basis for assessing the status of the major commercial fishery stocks by the commission. Thompson began an analysis of albacore catch records, combined with data collected on size, etc. (11) Investigations of the albacore of various intensity continued through the eight years of Thompson's regime and thereafter.

Thompson never published a comprehensive report on his albacore investigation, but, in a 1924 progress report, he noted that while overharvest might have been occurring he found no evidence of depletion. (12) He advised caution, recommending that conservation was advisable. He further indicated that progress had been made in accumulating knowledge of the age and growth of this species and that albacore appeared to be sensitive to physical conditions. (13) Thompson indicated that his laboratory was studying the variability of the numerical strength of incoming age classes of albacore entering the fishery. Finally, he concluded that work was needed to determine the distribution and spawning areas of the albacore. He indicated that both of these investigations would be expensive, each requiring the use of a research vessel (Thompson, 1924c).