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His work as a biologist required that he document riparian and marsh ecology, industrial pollution as it affected waterways, the management and infrastructure of fisheries, inspection of oyster boats, and mosquito control. There is a small subsubseries of images documenting the Nichiro Fisheries Company oyster processing plant in Hiroshima, Japan.

Japanese Oyster Packaging Plant

In his 1937 book, Pondfish Culture, Viosca relates the story of visiting the Beechwood Fish Hatchery, a state-run facility south of Alexandria. He was interested in rearing the newly-discovered smallmouth bass there but the superintendent did not accept that such a species existed. Viosca then went to the stream that supplied water to the hatchery and proceeded to catch one of the non-existent fish. The superintendent was convinced but wondered how it got into the stream because he had planted tens of thousands of largemouth fingerlings there in previous years. Viosca replied dryly: “You have only been planting expensive breakfasts”.

Official Visit to Beechwood

As an expert on shrimp, Percy Viosca argued that imposing size limits on shrimp and trawls was of little benefit to shrimp populations. He pointed out that any smaller shrimp caught were often killed and that trawl sizes were based on commercial considerations not biological ones. His solution was to introduce season closures and mesh size regulations as the best means to control the shrimp fishery, but both had to be properly enforced. Often outspoken, he condemned the practices which he viewed as fads and political interference that harmed both commercial and recreational fishing. Ever practical, Viosca is also credited with laying the foundations of the state’s pond crawfish industry through his efforts to teach rice farmers to grow rice and crawfish together.