REPOET OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES XL.V 



The Fish Hawk was an important factor in the activities of the 

 former United States Fish Commission and the present Bureau of 

 Fisheries for nearly 46 years. She was constantly engaged in fishery 

 investigations from Maine to Texas, among which may be mentioned 

 especially the oyster investigations on the Texas and Florida coasts 

 and the expeditions to Porto Rico in 1898 and 1899. In the war 

 with Spain and in the World War the vessel was taken into the naval 

 service. 



The Fish Hawk was designed by Charles W. Copeland, consult- 

 ing engineer of the Lighthouse Board, and was built in 1879 by the 

 Pusey & Jones Co., of Wilmington, Del., where she was launched 

 on December 13 of that year and turned over to the United States 

 Fish Commission on February 23, 1880. The vessel is of 441 gross 

 tonnage, 156 feet 6 inches long over all, and of 27-foot beam. The 

 hull below the main deck is of iron, sheathed with yellow pine. 

 Above the main deck the construction is of wood. She was intended 

 primarily for coastal work and was not designed for offshore cruis- 

 ing. She was equipped with a laboratory, sounding and dredging 

 apparatus, and on her main deck there was originally installed a 

 very complete hatchery. Later, however, the hatchery equipment 

 was removed, as it was no longer desirable to use the vessel for this 

 purpose. In recent years the necessity for extensive repairs on ac- 

 count of the vessel's age became imperative, and owing to the fact 

 that she was becoming obsolete and unfitted for present-day needs 

 it was not felt that the large cost of reconditioning her was justified, 

 and accordingly she was condemned and sold on June 1, 1926. 



To take the place of the Albatross and Fish Hawk there has been 

 obtained from the Navy Department the ocean tug Patuxent, the 

 name of which has been changed to Albatross II. This steamer is 

 an excellent ocean-going vessel, and it is believed will fill the bureau's 

 requirements for many years as efficiently and more economically 

 than either of her predecessors. She will carry a crew «f 26 men 

 and has ample accommodations for investigators besides a sufficiently 

 commodious laboratory. She will be equipped with requisite ap- 

 paratus for oceanographic and collecting work. She is now being 

 altered extensively to fit her for the bureau's needs, and it is ex- 

 pected she will be ready for active service early in the coming fiscal 

 year. 



The Albatross II was built at the Norfolk Navy Yard in 1909. 

 She is a two-masted steamer of 521 gross tons, built of steel, except 

 the masts, trimmings on deck houses, boat and bridge deck, and 

 main deck. The latter is of iron with a wood deck laid on top. 

 Her length over all is 156 feet, breadth molded 29 feet 6 inches, and 

 mean draft 12 feet 3 inches. Radio antennae extend between the 

 two masts, and a cargo boom is attached to the mainmast above 

 the deck houses. The hull, boats, deck houses, and bulwarks are 

 painted white. Masts, funnel, davits, ventilators, and trimming on 

 houses are navy buff. 



Two single-end Scotch boilers furnish power for two vertical 

 triple-expansion engines with a combined horsepower of 1.160. She 

 is equipped with steam steering engine, steam windlass, and steam 

 capstan and wireless apparatus. Two generators furnish lights and 



