History of Aquatic & Fishery Sciences

After numerous contacts between Cobb and the UW, the College of Fisheries was formally established on April 2, 1919, with John Cobb as Director (Fig. 1). His salary was $3,000 per year.

Cobb lacked a college education. He had spent a number of years employed with the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, he had been an editor with Pacific Fisherman magazine, and he later worked for the Alaska Packers Association. Cobb therefore knew the fishing industry. He was highly regarded by those in industry and by fishery scientists of the era such as Charles Henry Gilbert (1859—1928) of Stanford University.

During Cobb’s tenure as Director (1919—1930), the primary academic emphasis was on fishery technology with courses offered on fishery products, fundamentals of canning, and canning machinery and cannery management. Instruction in fisheries, ichthyology, and diseases of fish was also offered (Table 1). Initially, B.S. and M.S. degrees were offered; later a Ph.D. program was established.

The College was housed in four "temporary" wooden buildings on NE Pacific Street (Fig. 2), across the street from the present-day UW Medical Center. In addition to lecture halls and classrooms, the facilities included an ichthyology laboratory, a hatchery with rearing ponds, and a cannery and salting facility. (Get a glimpse of the School of Fisheries in 1920 at Fisheries College Completes First Year.

Cobb began to assemble a faculty for the new College. His first hires included an expert to teach aquaculture (Dr. George Charles Embody, 1876—1939) and an instructor to teach fishery technology classes (Clarence Louis Anderson, 1894—1966). Initially, Professor Trevor Kincaid of the Zoology Department taught ichthyology. Faculty salaries were relatively low and faculty turnover was initially high.

According to Stickney (1989), the number of students enrolled in the College grew rapidly. In the initial year of operation (1918—1919), 13 students were enrolled. By the 1927—1928 academic year, over 100 people were enrolled in the College. Five students from the first class graduated in 1923 with a B.S. degree. By 1927, the College had awarded 25 B.S. and 5 M.S. degrees.

Cobb developed health problems and suffered a heart attack in autumn 1929. He died in La Jolla, California, in January 1930. Cobb's efforts helped establish the foundations of fisheries education at the University of Washington. His legacy was to direct the first fisheries school in the United States and to bring national and international stature to the College. During his tenure, the conservation ethic was being developed in the USA, signaling a new awareness of the environment. Cobb placed his graduates in state and federal fisheries agencies, in industry, and in private hatcheries. In 1928 all 40 graduates obtained positions in fisheries-associated work.


		In 1913, the Commissioner of the United States Bureau of Fisheries, Hugh McCormick Smith (1865—1941), noted in an address to the American Fisheries Society that there was no college or university in the USA that offered training in fisheries-related subjects. The Society then appointed a committee to study the situation and to prepare a report. Whether or not such a report was prepared is not now known. The following year, Dr. Smith wrote to the Acting President of the University of Washington (UW), Dr. Henry Landes (1867—1936), arguing that the UW should establish a school of fisheries or at least offer a course or courses in fisheries to train students in such work. Smith indicated that great opportunities existed for people trained in fisheries and that the UW, with its proximity to fishing areas and to the fishing industry, was the perfect location for such a school. For the next several years, efforts were made by a number of individuals to persuade the UW to establish a School of Fisheries. Some of the major figures in these attempts included Miller Freeman (1875—1955), publisher of the Seattle-based fisheries trades magazine, Pacific Fisherman; Professor Trevor Kincaid (1872—1968), head of the Zoology Department (UW); and John Nathan Cobb (1868—1930), editor of Pacific Fisherman.
Figure 1. Part of the attendees at the Pacific Fisheries Society meeting of 1914, including John N. Cobb (1), Miller Freeman (2), Hugh M. Smith (3), and Trevor Kincaid (4) (from Stickney 1989). Figure 2. View of the wooden structures which housed the fisheries program at the University of Washington from 1919–1950. The building with the porch (right of center) is Fisheries Hall #2 (from Stickney 1989).		After numerous contacts between Cobb and the UW, the College of Fisheries was formally established on April 2, 1919, with John Cobb as Director (Fig. 1). His salary was $3,000 per year. Cobb lacked a college education. He had spent a number of years employed with the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, he had been an editor with Pacific Fisherman magazine, and he later worked for the Alaska Packers Association. Cobb therefore knew the fishing industry. He was highly regarded by those in industry and by fishery scientists of the era such as Charles Henry Gilbert (1859—1928) of Stanford University. During Cobb’s tenure as Director (1919—1930), the primary academic emphasis was on fishery technology with courses offered on fishery products, fundamentals of canning, and canning machinery and cannery management. Instruction in fisheries, ichthyology, and diseases of fish was also offered (Table 1). Initially, B.S. and M.S. degrees were offered; later a Ph.D. program was established. The College was housed in four "temporary" wooden buildings on NE Pacific Street (Fig. 2), across the street from the present-day UW Medical Center. In addition to lecture halls and classrooms, the facilities included an ichthyology laboratory, a hatchery with rearing ponds, and a cannery and salting facility. (Get a glimpse of the School of Fisheries in 1920 at Fisheries College Completes First Year. Cobb began to assemble a faculty for the new College. His first hires included an expert to teach aquaculture (Dr. George Charles Embody, 1876—1939) and an instructor to teach fishery technology classes (Clarence Louis Anderson, 1894—1966). Initially, Professor Trevor Kincaid of the Zoology Department taught ichthyology. Faculty salaries were relatively low and faculty turnover was initially high. According to Stickney (1989), the number of students enrolled in the College grew rapidly. In the initial year of operation (1918—1919), 13 students were enrolled. By the 1927—1928 academic year, over 100 people were enrolled in the College. Five students from the first class graduated in 1923 with a B.S. degree. By 1927, the College had awarded 25 B.S. and 5 M.S. degrees. Cobb developed health problems and suffered a heart attack in autumn 1929. He died in La Jolla, California, in January 1930. Cobb's efforts helped establish the foundations of fisheries education at the University of Washington. His legacy was to direct the first fisheries school in the United States and to bring national and international stature to the College. During his tenure, the conservation ethic was being developed in the USA, signaling a new awareness of the environment. Cobb placed his graduates in state and federal fisheries agencies, in industry, and in private hatcheries. In 1928 all 40 graduates obtained positions in fisheries-associated work. Top
Photo credits (top to bottom): Univ. Washington Special Collections; Fig. 1, Pacific Fisherman 12(6); Fig. 2, Univ. Washington Special Collections