8 FISHERY INDUSTRIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 



to make flights over such parts of the Atlantic as seemed necessary 

 for spotting schools of fish, such as mackerel, and for forwarding the 

 information obtained to organizations of the fisheries. At this 

 meeting the subject of direct communication between planes and 

 fisliing vessels by means of the radio telephone was considered. The 

 possibility of employing seaplanes to advantage in the menhaden 

 fisher}' was also called to the attention of operators in the Chesapeake 

 region, but nothing resulted from either of these negotiations during 

 the year. 



On July 28, 1919, W. W. Welsh, scientific assistant, Bureau of 

 Fisheries, made a flight of about 1^ hours in a naval seaplane from 

 Cape May, N. J., to Five Fathom Bank. This flight was made at a 

 speed of about 40 miles an hour at an altitude of 500 to 1,000 feet. 

 Mr. Welsh reported that no schools of menhaden were breaking 

 water at the surface but that large numbers of small schools were 

 observed at estimated depths of from 2 to 10 feet or more. He 

 stated that: 



The range of visibility of the menhaden schools varied according to the depth of the 

 school and the angle of incidence of the sun's rays. Had the fish been ruflling the 

 surface they could have been seen as far as the si/.e of the school and the atmospheric 

 conditions "permitted. This was evident by the visil>ility of tide rips and cat's-paws 

 of wind upon the surface. The deeper the school tlie more necessary it was to approach 

 it in order to see it. The deepest schools ol^served wore only visible from directly 

 above. When the sun's rays were reflected from the surface, it was impoesible to see 

 anytliing, and the visibility improved as the eye was directed away from the angle of 

 incidence of the sun. On the particular day in question the majority of the schools 

 of fish were at such depth that they were iiivisible at a greater angle than 45 or 50° 

 from the nadir, and then only on the side of the plane away from the f un. But some 

 schools nearer the surfac<5 could be seen much farther off. Besides the general value 

 of such observations, in no other way can such a clear idea be obtained of the 

 abundance or scarcity of schooling fish and the characteristic appearance of the 

 schools. * * * 



The most evident opportunity for the practical use of aircraft in the commercial 

 fisheries at the present time lies in their employment as scouts for the purse-seine 

 fishermen in the pursuit of such species as menhaden, mackerel, bluefi^h, l)luebacks, 

 kyacks, and other schooling fish. In the case of the spring mackerel fishery it is 

 beUeved that the use of aircraft would save much time in locating the fish upon their 

 first appearance and in enabling the fishermen to keep in touch with the fish as they 

 appeared farther north. 



In January, 1920, representatives of the Naval Aviation Service 

 and the Bureau of Fisheries again discussed the possibility of using 

 seaplanes in locating fish on the north Atlantic coast, and on Febru- 

 ary 25, at the request of the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of 

 the Navy authorized the experiment, and the proposal was placed 

 before various fishery organizations. The menhaden fishermen 

 showed constructive interest in the subject, and the commandant of 

 the Fifth Naval District detailed two Navy seaplanes, with pilots, 

 and the fishing companies provided observers familiar with the species. 



The fishing areas in Chesapeake Bay and along the coast between 

 Assoteague and Bodie Island Lights were blocked oft" into lettered 

 sections and numbered subdivisions for expediency in transmitting 

 information as to the location of schools sighted. At first this infor- 

 mation was communicated to the fishing vessels by signal flags sus- 

 pended from the plane. Later after the installation of radio e(|uip- 

 ment on two vessels and at the shore station of one of the companies, 

 a radio operator accompanied the plane to transmit the messages as 

 soon as the fish were located. These daily patrols were continued 

 from June 14 to October 1, when the Navy Department abandoned 



