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Fishery scientist and professor of fisheries, University of Washington

Known as the father of fisheries biology because he developed the first theory of fish conservation through management and regulation, William F. Thompson was an administrator in various research organizations and served as the director of the University of Washington’s School of Fisheries. Thompson’s studies of salmon and halibut led him to develop the first theory of fish conservation through fisheries management and regulation. At the University, Thompson led a reorganization of the School of Fisheries after the departure of the school’s founder, John Cobb, and became the first director of the UW Fisheries Research Institute.

Born in 1888 in St. Cloud, Minnesota, Thompson moved with his parents in 1903 to Everett, Washington. After studying zoology at the University of Washington from 1906 to 1909, he transferred to Stanford where he studied ichthyology (a branch of zoology that deals with fish) and received his bachelor’s degree in 1911.

After college, Thompson worked for the California Department of Fish and Game to survey the clam and oyster beds of northern California. In 1912 and 1913, he worked for the Commissioner of Fisheries of British Columbia to conduct similar surveys of halibut, clams, oysters, and herring. Thompson worked for these organizations in the summers while he did graduate work at Stanford.

In 1917, Thompson accepted a position with the California Fish and Game Commission to begin its fish research program. There he studied albacore tuna fisheries, grunion, and sardines in San Pedro and Long Beach. In 1924, a treaty between the US and Canada established the International Fisheries Commission and Thompson was asked to organize and direct the Commission’s study of the Pacific halibut fishery. For this project, Thompson devised a statistical data gathering system, initiated studies on the history of the fishery, and conducted studies on the migrations, races, growth rates, and early life history of Pacific halibut. Initiatives resulting from his work included winter closure, the establishment of a research program, and closing localized areas subject to overfishing.

During the 1920s, Thompson had been critical of the UW fisheries program, arguing that it was too technical and not grounded firmly enough in a body of scientific knowledge. Administrators at the University held similar views, and in 1930 the school dissolved the College of Fisheries and dismissed all faculty members except for one. To reorganize the Department of Fisheries, the University hired Thompson as Research Professor and head of the department in 1930, the same year he received his doctorate from Stanford. The reforms that Thompson implemented were based on the concept that the study of fisheries was not merely an application of zoology, but also needed firm grounding in mathematics, chemistry, and other sciences. During his tenure at UW, Thompson remained active in professional life outside the school. From about 1934 to 1937, he was a member of the Fisheries Advisory Technical Committee of the Washington State Planning Council. From 1937 to 1943 he served as the director of the International Pacific Salmon Commission, working only part-time at the University. For the Commission, Thompson directed studies of the sockeye salmon of the Fraser River and the impact of landslides on salmon at Hell’s Gate Canyon. After he resigned as Director, Thompson continued serving the Commission as a consultant.

In 1943, after resigning from the International Pacific Salmon Commission, Thompson began working full-time as the director of the UW School of Fisheries. In 1947, Thompson’s work for the University changed when an Alaska salmon industry group collaborated with the University to create the UW Fisheries Research Institute (FRI). Thompson became the Director of the Institute, where he served full-time and conducted research. For the FRI, Thompson headed a major study of salmon habits in Bristol Bay, AK.

During Thompson’s full-time work for the University, he continued numerous outside professional activities. Between 1945 and 1948, he conducted investigations on the Columbia River as a consultant for the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Beginning in 1954, Thompson also served as a consultant to the International North Pacific Fisheries Commission (established by treaty between the US, Canada, and Japan). He was a member of the American Institute of Fishery Research Biologists, which he helped found in 1956

Thompson retired from the University and from his directorship of the FRI in 1958, but remained active as an emeritus professor and a consultant to the FRI library. He died in 1965..