The collection of Southwest Fisheries Center Preliminary Cruise Reports contains material by or collected by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). This includes reports for many vessels of the Southwest Fisheries Center and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, as well as others.
Southwest Fisheries Center Preliminary Cruise Reports, 1948-1980 (SAC 75)
Extent: 2.8 Linear feet (7 archives boxes)
The Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC) serves as one of the research divisions of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Originally titled the Southwest Fisheries Center (SWFC), the Center was established in 1964 with the goal of studying sardine and tuna fisheries across the West Coast. Overtime, the scope of research conducted at the Center expanded to focus on the ecosystem as a whole, including various fish, mammal, seabird, and invertebrate populations. This includes scientific cruises and flights conducted for research, observations, and monitoring.
Currently, the Center is headquartered in La Jolla, California; and has laboratories and field stations across the West Coast and Antarctic Peninsula. The original building that housed the SWFC in La Jolla was partially vacated in 2008 due to bluff erosion. By 2012, construction of a new building was complete.
The Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC) has close ties with Scripps Institution of Oceanography, going back to SIO's research partnerships with the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries starting in the 1930s. The Bureau of Fisheries was later re-named the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and became an agency within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); eventually leading to the establishment of the Southwest Fisheries Center (SWFC). The collaborations continue today, including partnerships on research cruises.
Directors and administrators of the Center include: Elbert Halvor Ahlstrom (co-administrator, 1964-1967), Gerald Vincent Howard (co-administrator, 1964-1966), Alan Reece Longhurst (first Director, 1967-1971), Brian James Rothschild (1972-1976), Izadore Barrett (1977-1992), Michael Tillman (1993-2004), William W. Fox Jr. (2004-2008), Francisco "Cisco" Werner (2011-2016) , and Kristen Koch (2018-current).
The collection of Southwest Fisheries Center Preliminary Cruise Reports contains material by or collected by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The reports are mimeographed and generally describe vessel, itinerary, purpose, results, and scientific personnel for each cruise. As preliminary reports, they do not include in-depth findings. The collection includes reports for many vessels of the Southwest Fisheries Center and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography including: R/V Albatross IV, R/V Alexander Agassiz, R/V Bluefin, M/V Delaware, R/V Delaware II, R/V Kelp Bass, R/V N.B. Scofield, R/V Orca, and others. In addition to the cruise reports, there is a small selection of flight logs and reports.
The ship prefixes found in this collection are abbreviations historically used to identify the vessel's mode of propulsion, purpose, or ownership. The abbreviations in this collection include: CNAV for Canadian Naval auxiliary vessel, C/V for aircraft carrier, F/V for fishing vessel, M/V for motor vessel or merchant vessel, PB for patrol boat, PV for patrol vessel, R/T for fish trawler (in Russian "Rybolovny Trauler"), R/V for research vessel, S/V for sailing vessel, US FWS for United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and USC&GS for U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey.
Arranged in one series: 1) FLIGHT AND CRUISE REPORTS