8 FISHERY INDUSTRIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 
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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 
fishing vessels by means of the radio telephone was considered. The 
possibility of employing seaplanes to advantage in the menhaden 
fishery 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 sre of about 14 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 ruffling the 
surface they could have been seen as far as the size of the school and the atmospheric 
conditions permitted. This was evident by the visibility of tide rips and cat’s-paws 
of wind upon the surface. The deeper the school the more necessary it was to approach 
it in order to see it. The deepest schools observed were only visible from directly 
above. When the sun’s rays were reflected from the surface, it was impossible to see 
anything, 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 invisible at a greater angle than 45 or 50° 
from the nadir, and then only on the side of the plane away from the sun. But some 
schools nearer the surface 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 
SChoolssyin. soa) 
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, bluefish, bluebacks, 
kyacks, and other schooling fish. In the case of the spring mackerel fishery it is 
believed 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 eonstructive 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 off 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 equip- 
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 
