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Oscar Elton Sette (March 29, 1900 - July 25, 1972), who preferred to be called Elton Sette,Kendall, Arthur W., Jr., and Gary J. Duker, "The development of recruitment fisheries oceanography in the United States," ''Fisheries Oceanography'' 7:2, pp. 69-88, 1998.
/ref> was an influential 20th-century American
fisheries scientist Fisheries science is the academic discipline of managing and understanding fisheries. It is a multidisciplinary science, which draws on the disciplines of limnology, oceanography, freshwater biology, marine biology, meteorology, conservation, ...
. During a five-decade career with the
United States Bureau of Fisheries United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
,
United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...
and its Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, and the
National Marine Fisheries Service The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), informally known as NOAA Fisheries, is a United States federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that is responsible for the stew ...
, Sette pioneered the integration of fisheries science with the sciences of
oceanography Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamic ...
and
meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...
to develop a complete understanding of the physical and biological characteristics of the ocean environment and the effects of those characteristics on fisheries and fluctuations in the abundance of fish. He is recognized both in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and internationally for many significant contributions he made to marine fisheries research and for his leadership in the maturation of fisheries science to encompass fisheries oceanography, defined as the "appraisal or exploitation of any kind of arineorganism useful to Man" and "the study of oceanic processes affecting the abundance and availability of commercial fishes." Many fisheries scientists consider him to be the "father of modern fisheries science."


Biography


Early life

Oscar Elton Sette was born in Clyman,
Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
, on 29 July 1900, the fourth child and second son of Martin and Louise Sette. After a few years the family moved to
Juneau The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capital city of the state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality and the se ...
, Wisconsin, and in 1910 to a
lemon The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...
ranch in
Chula Vista Chula Vista (; ) is the second-largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the seventh largest city in Southern California, the fifteenth largest city in the state of California, and the 78th-largest city in the United States. The popul ...
,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. As a child, Sette developed an early interest in nature and living things and became an avid butterfly collector, which became a lifelong hobby. Sette attended National City High School in National City, California. After graduation in 1917, he began studies at San Diego Junior College in
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
, California, planning to transfer to the
University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...
in
Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...
in the fall of 1918 to study
entomology Entomology () is the science, scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such ...
. By chance, however, he met his high school
chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
teacher, Elmer Higgins, on a San Diego street in 1918. Higgins was working as a scientific assistant at the California State Fisheries Laboratory in San Pedro, and he invited Sette to accompany him on an exploratory
trawling Trawling is a method of fishing that involves pulling a fishing net through the water behind one or more boats. The net used for trawling is called a trawl. This principle requires netting bags which are towed through water to catch different speci ...
trip in a
fishing boat A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Many different kinds of vessels are used in commercial, artisanal and recreational fishing. The total number of fishing vessels in the world in 2016 was es ...
. Sette immediately was fascinated with the variety of sea creatures caught in the
fishing trawler A fishing trawler is a commercial fishing vessel designed to operate Trawling, fishing trawls. Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively dragging or pulling a trawl through the water behind one or more trawlers. Trawls are fishing ...
's nets and decided to pursue a career as a fisheries scientist. The California State Fisheries Laboratory soon hired him to check
canneries Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although un ...
for
albacore The albacore (''Thunnus alalunga''), known also as the longfin tuna, is a species of tuna of the order Perciformes. It is found in temperate and tropical waters across the globe in the epipelagic and mesopelagic zones. There are six distinct sto ...
landings, beginning his career in fisheries science at the age of 18.


California State Fisheries Laboratory, 1919-1924

Sette scrapped his plans to attend the University of California, instead entering service in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
in 1918 during the late stages of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. After his discharge in 1919, he became part of the staff of the California State Fisheries Laboratory.
Sardine "Sardine" and "pilchard" are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring family Clupeidae. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century, a folk etymology says it comes from the Ital ...
s had become increasingly important commercially in the United States, and in 1920 he received his first major assignment for the laboratory, which was to study the sardine
fishery Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...
off California to assist the laboratory in improving its understanding of the life cycle and behavior of sardines and to determine the effect of fishing on sardine stocks. Based in
Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under both ...
, California, Sette found the fluctuation of sardine populations from year to year to be of particular interest. Based on his work at Monterey, he wrote his first article on fisheries, discussing the Monterey fishery, his work there, and the need to better understand changes in the abundance and size of fish in order to manage fish stocks properly; the article was published in '' California Fish and Game'' in 1920 with the title "The Sardine Problem in the Monterey Bay District." The interest in the reasons for fluctuations in fish size and populations stayed with him for the rest of his life and played a major role in his career. On September 1, 1920, Sette took a
leave of absence The labour law concept of leave, specifically paid leave or, in some countries' long-form, a leave of absence, is an authorised prolonged absence from work, for any reason authorised by the workplace. When people "take leave" in this way, they are ...
to attend
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
in
Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...
, California, and finish college. Stanford was a major center for the study of fisheries on the
United States West Coast The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...
, and while there, he studied under the noted
ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octobe ...
and
educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
David Starr Jordan David Starr Jordan (January 19, 1851 – September 19, 1931) was the founding president of Stanford University, serving from 1891 to 1913. He was an ichthyologist during his research career. Prior to serving as president of Stanford Univer ...
(1851–1931). Graduating with a
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
in
Zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...
in June 1922, he returned to the California State Fisheries Laboratory, working in Monterey during the sardine fishing season and for the rest of the year at the San Pedro Laboratory, where he conducted research related to the
tuna A tuna is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae (mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bullet tuna (max length: ...
fishery. His first academic paper on fisheries – providing statistics on the sardine fishery and describing sampling systems he used at Monterey – resulted from this work, and it was accepted for publication in April 1924.


Bureau of Fisheries, 1924-1928

Impressed by Sette's use of statistics in studying the sardine fishery at Monterey, United States Commissioner of Fisheries
Henry O'Malley Henry O'Malley (March 22, 1876 —April 24, 1936) was an American fish culturist who led the United States Bureau of Fisheries (BOF) as the seventh United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries from 1922 to 1933. The BOF experienced significan ...
hired Sette in 1924 to work at the headquarters of the
United States Bureau of Fisheries United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, as Chief of the Division of Fishery Industries. Beginning work in his new position on January 8, 1924, Sette supervised the bureau's research in fishery technology, particularly the
canning Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although u ...
and
preservation Preservation may refer to: Heritage and conservation * Preservation (library and archival science), activities aimed at prolonging the life of a record while making as few changes as possible * ''Preservation'' (magazine), published by the Nat ...
of fishery products, as well the distribution of technological and production information on fisheries to the public. He also was responsible for a special effort to improve the
United States Government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...
′s system of collecting and publishing fisheries statistics. He wrote annual statistical arid economic reports of United States fisheries and articles concerning commercial fisheries for bureau publications and trade journals. In addition to his administrative and supervisory responsibilities in Washington, Sette remained active in fisheries
biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
, particularly as it related to his interest in fluctuations in the abundance of fish stocks. As early as 1911, the Bureau of Fisheries had expressed interest in working as part of the
International Council for the Exploration of the Sea The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES; french: Conseil International de l'Exploration de la Mer, ''CIEM'') is a regional fishery advisory body and the world's oldest intergovernmental science organization. ICES is headqu ...
(ICES) to determine the reasons for fluctuations in the annual catch of
Atlantic mackerel The Atlantic mackerel (''Scomber scombrus''), also known as Boston mackerel, Norwegian mackerel, Scottish mackerel or just mackerel, is a species of mackerel found in the temperate waters of the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea, and the northern ...
in the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
, but the United States had withdrawn from the ICES in 1916 after making little progress. Having himself noted highly variable annual Atlantic mackerel catches, Sette began an investigation of the Atlantic mackerel on his own initiative. His former chemistry teacher Elmer Higgins, now also at the Bureau of Fisheres in Washington as Chief of the Division of Scientific Inquiry, noted his work on the Atlantic mackerel and offered him a position as a full-time fisheries investigator in his division, which Sette accepted in 1928.


North Atlantic Fishery Investigation, 1928-1937

At the same time that Sette took up his new duties in Higgins′ division, the Bureau of Fisheries was establishing regional research teams, or "investigations," to investigate fisheries around the United States, and Sette became the chief of one of them, the North Atlantic Fishery Investigations. Sette set up the headquarters of the new investigations office at the
Museum of Comparative Zoology A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...
at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
in
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
. Under his guidance, the Bureau of Fisheries′ understanding of Atlantic Ocean fisheries off the
United States East Coast The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...
increased substantially. Each summer, Sette also served as director of the Bureau's Fisheries Station at
Woods Hole Woods Hole is a census-designated place in the town of Falmouth in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. It lies at the extreme southwest corner of Cape Cod, near Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands. The population was 781 at ...
, Massachusetts. Sette himself conducted research of the Atlantic mackerel fishery aboard the Bureau of Fisheries
research ship A research vessel (RV or R/V) is a ship or boat designed, modified, or equipped to carry out research at sea. Research vessels carry out a number of roles. Some of these roles can be combined into a single vessel but others require a dedicated ...
'' Albatross II'' from 1926 until 1932. After a preliminary cruise in 1926, his research aboard ''Abatross II'' began in earnest in 1927, focusing on the effects of changes in
ecological Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...
conditions on Atlantic mackerel eggs and
larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...
e. Before his research ended abruptly in June 1932, when the aging ship became uneconomical to operate and was decommissioned, he concluded that mortality rates among Atlantic mackerel larvae changed from year to year according to variations in drift based on winds and not, as had earlier been proposed, based on changes in mortality at the critical period when larvae switched over from their
yolk sac The yolk sac is a membranous sac attached to an embryo, formed by cells of the hypoblast layer of the bilaminar embryonic disc. This is alternatively called the umbilical vesicle by the Terminologia Embryologica (TE), though ''yolk sac'' is far ...
s to exogenous food sources. Sette's study pioneered the computation of population estimates of larval fish growth and mortality rates. In addition to his official duties, Sette pursued
postgraduate studies Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...
and received a
Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
in Biology from Harvard University in 1930.


California fisheries, 1937-1949

Meanwhile, in the Pacific Ocean fishery off the U.S. West Coast, a "sardine crisis" was looming. From 1916 through 1939, the annual sardine catch had more than doubled every six years, and had reached an annual high of about 1,500,000,000 pounds (680,000,000 kg) in 1936. Although California state biologists had warned against overfishing, the California state government had been unable to regulate sardine fishing through legislation. Amid rising concerns about the food supply in the United States, the Bureau of Fisheries sent Sette – who had demonstrated his ability to manage fisheries and had experience in the California sardine fishery and good contacts in the California fishing industry – to California in 1937 under a Congressional mandate to conduct sardine research that would allow better management of the Pacific sardine fishery. Sette became director of the bureau's new South Pacific Fisheries Investigations and established the organization's headquarters on the campus of Stanford University with instructions to "direct and perform research on the nature and causes of fluctuations in pelagic fish populations.” Sette quickly developed a plan for the study of the life cycle of the sardine in relation to the fishery; his plan included ecological studies of all stages of the life history of sardines as well as studies of the impact of fishing that contrasted sharply with the more narrowly focused fisheries research approach that preceded them. He enlisted the assistance of the
Scripps Institution of Oceanography The Scripps Institution of Oceanography (sometimes referred to as SIO, Scripps Oceanography, or Scripps) in San Diego, California, US founded in 1903, is one of the oldest and largest centers for oceanography, ocean and Earth science research ...
in
La Jolla La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. La Jolla is surrounded on ...
, California, thereby ensuring that ecological factors would be part of the findings in his sardine investigations. Sette at first encountered hostility and resistance in California, where the Chief of the State Bureau of Marine Fisheries, N.B. Schofield, who resented federal intervention in California fisheries investigations, openly urged Sette to abandon his mission and return to Washington. The local fishing industry also viewed federal involvement in its activities with suspicion and preferred no federal intervention in California fisheries. Sette, however, overcame the hostility and opposition through tact and diplomacy, and his previous work in fisheries science and honesty in his dealings won over those who opposed him. Fisheries research was interrupted by the U.S. participation in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
from 1941 to 1945, when manpower was short and many fishing vessels were commandeered for the support of the war effort. Sette nonetheless remained influential in U.S. West Coast fisheries management, serving as a paid consultant for the San Francisco Sardine Association and the California Sardine Products Institute from 1942 to 1947 and as Area Coordinator of Fisheries for California from 1943 to 1945. He commanded such respect in his paid consultancy that the sardine organizations followed his advice without question even when he refused to endorse their proposals for increased catches, and in his area coordinator role he succeeded in strictly controlling all fishing vessels and
fish processing plant A fish factory, also called a fish plant, fish processing facility, is a facility where fish processing is performed. Fish factories range in the size and range of species of fish they process. Some species of fish, such as mackerel and herring, a ...
s operating in California and off its coast, assigning fishing boats to plants and then shifting them around to ensure that all plants would remain in operation and no waste would occur – all despite a fiercely competitive environment in the California fishing industry. Throughout the period, he held that proper management of fisheries required an understanding of the causes of fluctuation in fish populations and in 1943 published a paper that emphasized the need to understand the causes of mortality of fish early in their life cycle to truly understand fishery fluctuations. After World War II ended in 1945,
commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often ...
in the United States experienced a boom as demand for fish to feed a growing population attracted international investment. International meetings to discuss fishery issues of common interest increased in frequency and stature, and Sette was a U.S. representative at many of these. The sardine fishery quickly declined alarmingly, and in response the California state government in 1947 created a Marine Research Committee made up of fishing industry representatives, with Sette as its scientific advisor. Sette, who had pondered fluctuating fisheries since 1920, was influential in the committee's decision to create the California Cooperative Sardine Research Program, which in 1953 was renamed the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI), in which five U.S. Government agencies, California state government agencies, and
universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
took part. Sette played a prominent role in planning the new effort, and in doing so made one of his greatest contributions to the maturation of fisheries science by pioneering the integration of fisheries research with that of oceanography and meteorology to gain a complete picture of the impact of the environment on fisheries.


Pacific Ocean Fisheries Investigations, 1949-1955

Tuna stocks in the Pacific Ocean had also come under significant pressure since the end of World War II, and the Fish and Wildlife Service – which had absorbed the old Bureau of Fisheries in 1940 and would be reorganized in 1956 as the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...
– responded by building a new Honolulu Laboratory adjacent to the campus of the
University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...
in
Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
,
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
, purchasing two research ships to support its efforts, and creating the new Pacific Ocean Fisheries Investigations (POFI). In 1949, Sette became the first director of the new laboratory and of POFI. Drawing on his experience in California, he set up an integrated team of fisheries scientists, oceanographers, and meteorologists to pursue a pioneering program to understand not only the effect of environmental phenomena on oceanic fishes as they studied tuna populations along the
equator The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can als ...
, but also to gain a greater general understanding of the region. During the studies, a member of his team, oceanographer
Townsend Cromwell Townsend Cromwell (November 3, 1922 – June 2, 1958) was an oceanographer who discovered the Cromwell current while researching drifting in the equatorial region of the Pacific Ocean. He died in an the airplane crash of the Aeroméxico Flight ...
(1922–1958), in 1952 discovered what became known as the
Cromwell Current The Cromwell Current (also called Pacific Equatorial Undercurrent or just Equatorial Undercurrent) is an eastward-flowing subsurface current that extends the length of the equator in the Pacific Ocean. The Cromwell Current was discovered in 1952 b ...
. The POFI team's integrated effort under Sette's overall direction greatly advanced scientific knowledge of the equatorial Pacific Ocean.


Chief of Ocean Research, 1955-1970

In 1955, the Fish and Wildlife Service created a new program, Ocean Research, and made Sette its director. Again, Sette took charge of a new laboratory and, from a headquarters on the campus of Stanford University, pioneered yet another new aspect of fisheries science, namely, an examination of all available data concerning the oceans and development of an understanding of how they relate to the abundance and distribution of fish. He again created a team of biologists, oceanographers, and meteorologists, and they analyzed a mass of data on sea surface temperatures, weather observations, and all known data on the abundance of fish over time. By 1961, Sette had published analysis that demonstrated that abundance in a fishery depended not only fish population size itself, but also on the availability of the fish population to exploitation by fishing vessels, with oceanographic and meteorological factors playing a role in the latter as currents and weather differed from year to year. One of the team's innovative achievements was the publication of an
atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geographic ...
of 168 monthly mean sea surface temperature charts for the Pacific Ocean north of latitude 20° North covering the years 1949 through 1962. While directing the Ocean Research project – which was placed under the control of the Fish and Wildlife Service's new Bureau of Commercial Fisheries when the bureau was created in 1956 – Sette pursued a doctoral degree, receiving a
Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
in Biology from Stanford University in 1957. He also lectured at the university.


Annuitant, 1970-1972

Sette retired from U.S. Government service in March 1970, but was immediately rehired as a paid annuitant and continued to work in the Ocean Research program until June 1970, when it completed its work and its office at Stanford closed. He then took charge of the Ocean Ecology unit at the Tiburon Laboratory of the
National Marine Fisheries Service The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), informally known as NOAA Fisheries, is a United States federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that is responsible for the stew ...
– an element of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...
(NOAA) created along with NOAA in 1970 that replaced the Fish and Wildlife Service's Bureau of Commercial Fisheries and took over almost all of its functions – in Menlo Park, California. In July 1970, he became a member of the editorial board of the ''Fishery Bulletin of the Fish and Wildlife Service'', which was renamed the ''
Fishery Bulletin The ''Fishery Bulletin'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It was established in 1881 and was until 1903 published as the ''Bulletin of the United States Fish Commiss ...
''Lasker, Reuben, and Thomas A. Manar, In Memoriam: Oscar Elton Sette, ''Fishery Bulletin'', National Marine Fisheries Service, Volume 70, Number 4.
/ref> in 1971. As director of the Ocean Ecology unit, Sette continued work on various issues in fisheries science, including an analysis of the
Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
herring Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...
fishery, until his death.


Personal and professional life

Sette married the former Elizabeth G. Jackson on December 20, 1924. They had a daughter. A lifelong butterfly collector, Sette maintained a substantial collection of the insects and wrote authoritative articles describing them. He also was an avid
tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
player and
gardener A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby. Description A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the home-owner suppleme ...
, employing
compost Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by decomposing plant, food waste, recycling organic materials and manure. The resulting m ...
ing techniques long before their widespread adoption. He also became an amateur meteorologist and entomologist.


Meetings and conferences

Sette strongly believed in the value of informal meetings and chaired, or was a committee member of, numerous planning and steering committees during his career. He helped to design and actively participated in the Sardine Meetings from their beginning in 1920, played a major role in organizing the Pacific Tuna Conferences, and helped structure and participated actively in the CalCOFI Conferences as their scientific advisor. While attending the 1954 meeting of the Oceanography Fisheries Meteorology Committee, he proposed that groups involved in related fisheries science studies in the eastern Pacific Ocean coordinate the planning and execution of their work at sea and exchange information on the results of their research; the Committee approved his proposal at its 1955 meeting, and in 1956 the Eastern Pacific Oceanic Conference (EPOC) was created to carry out his idea by serving as a forum for the discussion of oceanographic research and as a medium for the coordination of research by diverse, geographically separated academic and governmental agencies. EPOC first met in 1956 with Sette as its chairman, and he served EPOC for the next 15 years. He also took part in many other international conferences and meetings during his career, including service as an official U.S. delegate to the Indo-Pacific Fisheries Council in
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
in 1949 and to the International Technical Conference on the Living Resources of the Sea in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
in 1955, and as an advisor to the U.S. delegation at a Fisheries Conference in
Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...
,
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, in 1955 and to the U.S. delegation at the first
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
Conference on the Law of the Sea in
Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
,
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, in 1958.


Academic papers

Among the more important academic papers Sette wrote during his career were: * ''Biology of the Atlantic mackerel (''Scomber scombrus'') of North America. Part 1: Early life history, including growth, drift, and mortality of the egg and larval populations'' (Sette, U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv., Fish. Bull. 50:149-237) *''Estimation of the abundance of the eggs and larvae of the Pacific
pilchard "Sardine" and "pilchard" are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring family Clupeidae. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century, a folk etymology says it comes from the ...
off
southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
during 1940 and 1941'' (Sette and Ahlstrom, 1948, Jour. Mar. Res., 7: 511-542) *''Considerations of midocean fish production as related to oceanic circulatory systems'' (Sette, 1955, Jour. Mar. Res., 14: 398-414) *''Problems in fish population fluctuations'' (Sette, 1961, Rep. Calif. Coop. Oceanic Fish. Inves., 8: 21-24) *''Ocean environment and fish distribution and abundance'' (Sette, 1966, In Exploiting the Ocean, Mar. Tech Soc. Conf. Exhibits, 2nd Ann. Meeting: 309-318) *''A perspective of a multi-species fishery'' (Sette, 1969, Rep. Calif. Coop. Oceanic Fish. Inves., 13: 81-87)


Memberships

Sette was an advisor to the University of California's Institute of Marine Sciences and a member of the Ocean Resources Panel of the
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
, the
American Fisheries Society The American Fisheries Society (established 1870 in New York City), is the "world’s oldest and largest organization dedicated to strengthening the fisheries profession, advancing fisheries science, and conserving fisheries resources." It is a mem ...
, the
American Institute of Biological Sciences The American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) is a nonprofit scientific charity. The organization’s mission is to promote the use of science to inform decision-making and advance biology for the benefit of science and society. Overvie ...
, the
American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists The American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH) is an international learned society devoted to the scientific studies of ichthyology (study of fish) and herpetology (study of reptiles and amphibians). The primary emphases of the ...
, the
American Society of Limnology and Oceanography The Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO), formerly known as the Limnological Society of America and the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, is a scientific society established in 1936 with the goal of advan ...
, the American Wildlife Society, the
Biometric Society The International Biometric Society (IBS) is an international professional and academic society promoting the development and application of statistical and mathematical theory and methods in the biosciences, including biostatistics. It sponsors th ...
, the
California Academy of Sciences The California Academy of Sciences is a research institute and natural history museum in San Francisco, California, that is among the largest museums of natural history in the world, housing over 46 million specimens. The Academy began in 1853 ...
, the Oceanographic Society of the Pacific, the Western Society of Naturalists,
Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...
, and
Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is a highly prestigious, non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a small group of graduate students in 1886 ...
. He was a founding fellow of the American Institute of Fishery Research Biologists and a fellow of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...
.


Honors and awards

On January 16, 1961, Sette received the U.S. Department of the Interior's highest award, the Distinguished Service Award, for outstanding service to the U.S. Government. The citation for the award, signed by
United States Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natural ...
Fred A. Seaton (1909–1974) and delivered before an audience of several hundred people, read in part:
"Dr. Sette is an internationally recognized leader in
marine science Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, Wind wave, waves, and geophysical flu ...
, highly respected by his contemporaries in University, State, and Federal Service. His ability has speeded progress in the knowledge of the sea and its resources and reflected prestige and credit upon the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries and the Department. Since joining the Bureau of Fisheries, a predecessor agency of the Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, on January 8, 1924, he has made outstanding contributions, not only as a scientist, but as an organizer of investigations, eminent administrator, and an unusually successful teacher... "He has always placed special importance on the training of scientists under his supervision and has devoted much time and effort to their development. These efforts have had an important influence upon fishery science in the United States and
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, as attested by the numbers of his former employees who now hold leading positions in the profession. “... In recognition of his important contributions to the scientific program of the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries and his eminent career in Government, the Department of the Interior bestows upon Dr. Sette its highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award."
Coincidentally, Sette's early mentor Elmer Higgins, who had played such a major role in introducing Sette to fisheries science and in furthering his early career, received the same award in the same ceremony.


Death

Sette died at the age of 72 on July 25, 1972 in Los Altos, California, where he and his wife had resided for a number of years. He was
cremated Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...
, and his ashes were scattered at sea in the Pacific Ocean from the deck of the NOAA research ship NOAAS ''David Starr Jordan'' (R 444) on September 7, 1972.


Commemoration

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration named one of its research ships, NOAAS ''Oscar Elton Sette'' (R 335), for Sette. The ship was commissioned on January 23, 2003. Since 1991, the Marine Fisheries Section of the American Fisheries Society has presented the annual Oscar E. Sette Award, named in honor of Sette, to each year's outstanding marine fishery biologist, for "sustained excellence in marine fishery biology through research, teaching, administration, or a combination of the three."mfs.fisheries.org The Oscar E. Sette Award: Outstanding Marine Fishery Biologist
/ref> For over a decade, scientists at the California State Fisheries Laboratory used the "sette" as a unit of measurement, named in honor of Sette. The "sette" was equal to half a
centimeter 330px, Different lengths as in respect to the Electromagnetic spectrum, measured by the Metre and its deriveds scales. The Microwave are in-between 1 meter to 1 millimeter. A centimetre (international spelling) or centimeter (American spellin ...
, which Sette during his time at the laboratory had determined to be appropriate for the measurement of
Pacific mackerel The blue mackerel (''Scomber australasicus''), also called Japanese mackerel, Pacific mackerel, slimy mackerel or spotted chub mackerel, is a fish of the family Scombridae, found in tropical and subtropical waters of the Pacific Ocean from Japa ...
. The "sette" eventually fell into disuse when scientists at the laboratory began to seek more precise measurements of fish.


References


External links


mfs.fisheries.org The Oscar E. Sette Award: Outstanding Marine Fishery Biologist
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sette, Oscar Elton American marine biologists 1900 births 1972 deaths Fisheries scientists United States Bureau of Fisheries personnel United States Fish and Wildlife Service personnel Scientists from California Stanford University alumni Harvard University alumni Stanford University faculty People from Chula Vista, California People from Juneau, Wisconsin People from Los Altos, California Burials at sea 20th-century American zoologists