Dayton Lee Alverson, a longtime Northwest fisheries expert, died Saturday at the age of 88.
Alverson was born in San Diego and grew up in a Navy family, He joined the Navy, and in 1944 he deployed behind enemy lines in China as a radio operator, reports the Seattle Times.
He moved to Seattle in 1947 to study fisheries at the University of Washington, and he later became an affiliate professor with the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs.
As a federal biologist based in Seattle, Alverson published research intended to alert the US fishing industry to vast potential seafood harvests.
In the 1970s, Alverson emerged as an outspoken proponent of extending the US fishing boundaries to 200 miles.
In 1980, after leaving the federal fishery service, Alverson co-founded Natural Resources Consultants.
