Despite a variety of challenges, contributions made by the research organization that eventually became the Fisheries Research Board of Canada proved to be vital in the development of the science. Indeed, its flagship station, the Atlantic Biological Station in New Brunswick, became for a time one of the world's leading centres for marine science, its dynamic scientists and facilities providing the impetus that helped Canadian fisheries biology to achieve internationally recognized status. An original and timely work, A Science on the Scales shines a light on a heretofore-neglected aspect of Canada's science history.