View source for United States House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries

The '''United States House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries''' is a defunct [[United States Congressional committee|committee]] of the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]].

The Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries was created on December 21, 1887, replacing the Select Committee on American Shipbuilding and Shipowning Interests. The House Rules defined its jurisdiction as those matters concerning the [[United States Merchant Marine]]. This included all matters relating to transportation by water, the [[United States Coast Guard]], life-saving service, lighthouses, lightships, ocean derelicts, the Coast and Geodetic Survey, the [[Panama Canal]], and fisheries. Legislation referred to the committee also included matters involving seamen (their assignments, wages, treatment, and health) and officers (their titles, conduct, and licensing); the naming, measuring, licensing, and registering of vessels; navigation and related laws; pleasure yachts; collisions at sea, as well as international arrangements to prevent them; coasting districts; maritime schools; and, taxes, fines, and penalties on vessels. The committee has also regulated shipping in the Philippines and Hawaii. As did most committees of the House, the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee created subcommittees to handle portions of its jurisdiction.

In 1919 the committee was given jurisdiction over wireless telegraphy and in 1932 its name was changed to the Committee on Merchant Marine, Radio, and Fisheries. After a dispute with the [[United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce|Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce]], the jurisdiction over radio services was transferred to that committee in 1935 and the term "radio" was dropped from the name of the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee.

During his tenure in office, Congressman [[Mario Biaggi]] was Chairman of the US House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Navigation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/06/24/archives/biaggi-seeks-new-water-safety-plan.html|title=Biaggi Seeks New Water Safety Plan|first=Joanne A.|last=Fishman|date=June 24, 1979|work=The New York Times}}</ref>

In 1995, most duties of the committee were transferred to the [[United States House Committee on Natural Resources|Committee on Resources]] and subsequently abolished.

== Chairmen ==
{| class=wikitable
|-
! Chair !! Party !! State !! Start of Service !! End of Service
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[Poindexter Dunn]] || Democratic || Arkansas || 1887 || 1889
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[John M. Farquhar]] || Republican || New York || 1889 || 1891
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[Samuel Fowler (1851–1919)|Samuel Fowler]] || Democratic || New Jersey || 1891 || 1893
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[George W. Fithian]] || Democratic || Illinois || 1893 || 1895
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[Sereno E. Payne]] || Republican || New York || 1895 || 1899
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[Charles H. Grosvenor]] || Republican || Ohio || 1899 || 1907
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[William S. Greene]] || Republican || Massachusetts || 1907 || 1911
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[Joshua W. Alexander]] || Democratic || Missouri || 1911 || 1919
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[William S. Greene]] || Republican || Massachusetts || 1919 || 1924
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[Frank D. Scott]] || Republican || Michigan || 1925 || 1927
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[Wallace H. White Jr.]] || Republican || Maine || 1927 || 1931
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[Ewin L. Davis]] || Democratic || Tennessee || 1931 || 1933
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[S. Otis Bland]] || Democratic || Virginia || 1933 || 1947
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[Frederick Van Ness Bradley]] || Republican || Michigan || colspan=2|{{center|1947}}
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[Alvin F. Weichel]] || Republican || Ohio || 1947 || 1949
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[S. Otis Bland]] || Democratic || Virginia || 1949 || 1950
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[Edward J. Hart]] || Democratic || New Jersey || 1950 || 1953
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[Alvin F. Weichel]] || Republican || Ohio || 1953 || 1955
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[Herbert Covington Bonner]] || Democratic || North Carolina || 1955 || 1965
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[Edward Garmatz]] || Democratic || Maryland || 1965 || 1973
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[Leonor Sullivan]] || Democratic || Missouri || 1973 || 1977
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[John M. Murphy (New York politician)|John M. Murphy]] || Democratic || New York || 1977 || 1980
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[Thomas W. L. Ashley]] || Democratic || Ohio || 1980 || 1981
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[Walter B. Jones Sr.]] || Democratic || North Carolina || 1981 || 1992
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[Gerry Studds]] || Democratic || Massachusetts || 1992 || 1995
|}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
* [https://www.archives.gov/legislative/guide/house/chapter-15.html Records of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries (1887– 1986)], Records of the Judiciary Committee and Related Committees, Guide to the Records of the U.S. House of Representatives at the National Archives, 1789–1989 (Record Group 233), [[National Archives and Records Administration]] {{PD-notice}}

{{USCongressCommittees}}

{{NARA}}

[[Category:Defunct committees of the United States House of Representatives|Merchant Marine and Fisheries]]
[[Category:1887 establishments in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:1995 disestablishments in Washington, D.C.]]