DREDGING AND HYDROGRAPHIC RECORDS OF THE U. S. 

 FISHERIES STEAMER "ALBATROSS," 1911-1920. 



INTRODUCTION. 



On October 16, 1907, the l^ S. Fisheries steamer Albatross left San 

 Francisco, Calif., en route to the Philippine Islands on a cruise which 

 covered a period of over two and one-half years of scientific investi- 

 gation, during which stops were made at Midway, Guam, the Philip- 

 pines, Borneo, Pratas Reef, China Sea, Dutch East Indies, and 

 Formosa. The ship returned to San Francisco on May 4, 1910. The 

 dredging and hydrographic records of this expedition have been pub- 

 lished in the Bureau oi Fisheries dociiment No. 741, 1910. 



On July 9, 1910, after two months' overhauling and preparation, 

 the Albatross, under the command of Commander Guy H. Burrage, 

 U. S. N., left San Francisco, Calif., for Alaska on a cruise of inspec- 

 tion, carrying on board the Secretary of Commerce and Labor and 

 the Attorney General. The trip ended on September 20, 1910, when 

 the ship reached San Francisco Bay. 



No active work was engaged in until February 23, 1911, when a 

 biological investigation was made along the coast of southern and 

 Lower California, the Gulf of California, and the Guadaloupe Islands 

 under the direction of Dr. C. H. Townsend, acting director of the Amer- 

 ican Museum of Natural History of New York City. An important 

 result of tliis investigation was the rediscovery of the northern ele- 

 phant seal, Macrorhimis angustirostris Gill, which was supposed to be 

 extinct, and the capture alive of six yearlings, some of which lived for 

 a considerable time at the New York Aquarmm. The vessel returned 

 to San Francisco on April 29, 1911, after making a series of dredge 

 hauls along the California coast. 



With but two weeks of preparation the Albatross was sent to Alaska 

 to investigate the halibut and cod banks lying along the coast. A. B. 

 Alexander, assistant in charge of the division of statistics and methods, 

 directed the work, and Capt. J. B. Joyce had charge of the fishing 

 operations. The cruise was completed about the middle of Septem- 

 ber, at which time the ship reached San Francisco. 



Owing to the fact that the Albatross was found to be in an unsea- 

 worthy condition, no work w\as attempted outside of San Francisco 

 Bayuntil Aprilri, 1914 ; but meanwhile, from January 30, 1912, to April 

 22, 1913, a biological survey of San Francisco Bay w^as carried out. A 

 preliminary report on the physical conditions of the bay was published 

 m 1914.<* The direction of the work was vested in a board composed 

 of three members — the commanding officer of the Albatross, the natur- 

 alist, and Dr. C. A. Kofoid, representing the L^niversity of California. 



After being thoroughly repaired and overhauled under a special 

 appropriation the Albatross left San Francisco on April 12, 1914, to 

 investigate the waters off the coast of Washington and Oregon, with 

 the object of determining their extent and value as fishing grounds. 

 Edward Driscoll was in charge of the &hing operations, which were 



a A Report upon the Physical Conditions in San Francisco Bay, based upon the Operations of the U. S. 

 Fisheries Steamer Albatross during the Years 1912 and 19i:?; by Francis B. Sumnei , George D. Louderback, 

 Waldo L. Schmitt, and Edward C. Johnston. University of California Publications in Zoology, vol. 14, 

 No. 1, pp. 1-198, pis. 1-13, 20 text figs. Berkeley, 1914. 



