2020 US Code
Title 16 - Conservation
Chapter 9A - Preservation of Fishery Resources
Sec. 758a - Conduct of explorations and related work in Pacific Ocean

The Secretary of Commerce is authorized and directed to conduct such fishing explorations and such necessary related work as oceanographical, biological, technological, statistical, and economic studies to insure maximum development and utilization of the high seas fishery resources of the United States and its island possessions in the tropical and subtropical Pacific Ocean and intervening areas as may be consistent with developing and sustaining such fishery resources at maximum levels of production in perpetuity and to provide for the best possible utilization thereof.

(Aug. 4, 1947, ch. 451, §2, 61 Stat. 726; Pub. L. 86–624, §11(a), July 12, 1960, 74 Stat. 412; 1970 Reorg. Plan No. 4, eff. Oct. 3, 1970, 35 F.R. 15627, 84 Stat. 2090.)

1960—Pub. L. 86–624 substituted "the United States and its island possessions" for "the Territories and island possessions of the United States".

"Secretary of Commerce" substituted for "Secretary of the Interior, through the United States Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of the Interior," in view of: creation of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Department of Commerce and Office of Administrator of such Administration; abolition of Bureau of Commercial Fisheries in Department of the Interior and Office of Director of such Bureau; transfers of functions, including functions formerly vested by law in Secretary of the Interior or Department of the Interior which were administered through Bureau of Commercial Fisheries or were primarily related to such Bureau, exclusive of certain enumerated functions with respect to Great Lakes fishery research, Missouri River Reservoir research, Gulf Breeze Biological Laboratory, and Trans-Alaska pipeline investigations; and transfer of marine sport fish program of Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife by Reorg. Plan No. 4 of 1970, eff. Oct. 3, 1970, 35 F.R. 15627, 84 Stat. 2090, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

United States Fish and Wildlife Service, consisting of Bureau of Commercial Fisheries and Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, succeeded and replaced Fish and Wildlife Service of Department of the Interior under provisions of Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956, as originally provided in section 742b(a) and (d) of this title.

For transfer of functions of other officers, employees, and agencies of Department of the Interior, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of the Interior, with power to delegate, see Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1950, §§1, 2, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1262, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

Pub. L. 85–887, Sept. 2, 1958, 72 Stat. 1710, directed Secretary of the Interior to prosecute, for a period of not to exceed four years from Sept. 2, 1958, investigations of the abundance and distribution of dogfish sharks, experiments to develop control measures, and a vigorous program for the elimination and eradication or development of economic uses of dogfish shark populations.