FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 69, NO. 4 



enjjines, and seines were made larger. Follow- 

 ing World War I, diesel and gasoline engines 

 gradually replaced steam engines in the carrier 

 vessels. Methods of catching and processing 

 menhaden, however, changed very little between 

 World Wars I and II. 



After World War II the increased demand for 

 fish meal and oil initiated changes in the industry. 

 Numl)ers and sizes of vessels increased, methods 

 of fishing changed, ])rocessing facilities expand- 

 ed, and processing efficiency increased. 



A major change in fishing methods occurred in 

 194(3 when airplanes were introduced to locate 

 concentrations of fish. Plant operators found 

 this practice so successful that they rapidly added 

 more planes in following years (Table 1). In- 

 itially, airplanes scouted wide areas and directed 

 vessels to places where menhaden were abundant. 

 Later, after captains wei'e given portable radios, 

 the airplane pilot directed the actual setting of 

 the net. Since about 1950 airplanes have been 

 an inte.gral part of fishing operations (Robas, 

 1959; June, 1963). 



Fish inimps, initially installed on carrier ves- 

 sels in 1916, were the first significant advance 



Table 1. — Number of airplanes used in the Atlantic 

 menhaden fishery.^ 



Figure 1. — Ports and major fishins areas, Atlantic men- 

 haden fishei-y. 



a Exact dota ore not availoble for the North Carolina fall fishery. 

 Estimates indicate that 20 to 25 were used each year after about 1955. 



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