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

(20) For a review of the early history of applied fisheries research as well as Thompson's role in it, see Kendall and Duker (1998).

(21) Emphasizing the goal of "conservation" Thompson (1924c) wrote "as is made very clear in the law under which we work and in our published papers, the conservation of our fisheries must be set above all else."

(22) "It seems to me as though I must (original emphasis) popularize my work and place the facts in easily accessible articles. Indeed as I think it over, that seems the greatest single thing to be done, and the factor which seems least attended to." Thompson to J. B. Thompson, dated Stanford University 1 June 1915 (Thompson, J.B. [Editor]. MS. II:8-9, see footnote 1).

(23) In 1923, Thompson became heavily engaged in attempting to ensure the survival of his laboratory. He wrote letters seeking support from Gilbert, Jordan, and others (but he kept his supervisor, N. B. Scofield, advised of his actions). Many of those he sought assistance from wrote letters of support to the Governor of California, Friend William Richardson (1865-1943) (Anonymous, 1950). See numerous letters in Thompson papers, University of Washington Archives, Accession Number 2597-77-1, Box 12, Folders 10-12. Whether or not the letters were influential, the laboratory remained open. See memo to files (n.d., but 1923) from Thompson in the University of Washington Archives, Accession Number 2597-77-1, Box 12, Folder 11.

(24) Apparently due to budget restrictions, research in the 1924-1926 biennium was confined mainly to the sardine and northern anchovy, Engraulis mordax, instead of the 8-10 species studied in previous years (W. Scofield, 1927).

(25) Thompson (1924c) noted in the commission's Biennial Report for 1922-24 that, of the scientific assistants he had hired, "All of these assistants, with the exception of Mr. W. L. Scofield, have, however, now left the Commission, either for the service of the Federal Bureau of Fisheries or for work at universities. It has become very apparent that the retention of these assistants when fully trained will require a higher standard of salary and greater provision for permanency of employment that at present offers, since there is very obviously a shortage of such men in the United States." Some of those who left acquired prestigious positions. For example, Sette and Higgins each took jobs as division chiefs for the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries in Washington, D.C. (Anonymous, 1926).

(26) In one of his last reports for the commission, Thompson recommended that the state fisheries laboratory be removed from the uncertainties of state funding and politics. He recommended the establishment of a legal foundation "for the formal organization of the laboratory, the formation of a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, and the creation of an advisory committee or board to keep a general supervision of the scientific work" (Thompson, 1924c).