Recently, a great deal of publicity has
been and is being given to findings that
long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (which
occur almost exclusively in the oil of
fish) may have beneficial effects in reducing
the incidence of heart disease
and certain other medical conditions
(Stansby, 1985). These findings result
from research carried out over many
years, and part of the early research
along these lines was done at laboratories
financed by the National Marine
Fisheries Service, NOAA, and its predecessor
agencies. Other research has
also been carried out by laboratories of
this agency on other aspects of fish oils
which have various industrial applications.
This paper summarizes such research
which began about 1920 and continues
today.
Research is described here which took
place not only in the National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS) which started
operation in 1970 but also at its predecessor
organizations, the Bureau of Fisheries
and Bureau of Commercial Fisheries
(BCF). The research discussed here