(Lewis) The Fisheries Bureau is celebrating 150 years in existence this year.
On March 19, 1874, the legislature gave the Governor the authority to appoint a board of fish commissioners to advance the interest of fish culture in the state. On May 8, 1874, the three appointed fish commissioners held their first meeting. The commissioner’s yearly salary was listed at $200.00.
John Lorensen, a fisheries biologist with the Department of Natural Resources in southwest Iowa, appearing on the Saturday morning DNR report on KSOM, says the first fishing regulation was drafted twelve years before the formation of the fisheries commission.
Lorensen says he will be sharing additional information about the history of the fisheries bureau in the weeks leading up to the 150th anniversary.
