SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVING FISHING VESSELS. 
177 
ties of this kind will, beyond question, add to the jirosperity of the business, providing 
the expense incurred is not disproportionate to the advantages to be obtained. 
In view of what has been stated, it seems timely to consider the question of util- 
izing steam as a motive power on the vessels engaged in the off-shore Atlantic market 
fishery. If a swift and thoroughly sea- worthy screw steamer — one that can keep the 
sea and make passages in heavy weather — can be built and operated at a compara- 
tively moderate expense, there is reason to believe that such a vessel would prove 
successful in the market fishery north of Cape Cod. 
It is true that experiments have been made in the direction of employing screw 
steamers in the winter haddock fishery and that the results obtained were not satis- 
factory. But those trials have proved nothing excepting that the vessels were entirely 
unfit for the winter fishery. Indeed, they had been built for the menhaden fishery, 
which is prosecuted in summer, and by necessity in comparatively smooth water. 
What seems to be needed for the market fishery, if steam is to be employed, is a type of 
vessel that, while being of moderate size, will be swift and sea-worthy; is compara- 
tively inexpensive to build and run, and will have, at the same time, sufficient carrying 
capacity to enable it to bring into market as many fish as it is liable to take. 
The small screw steamers which are employed from England and Scotland in the 
long-line or trawl-line fishery, the beam-trawl fishery, and the drift-net fishery (and 
have been introduced also into other European countries), appear to possess the qual- 
ifications that may be required in a vessel to adapt it to the market fishery on the 
Atlantic coast of the United States. These steamers, though moderate in dimensions, 
are specially designed for sea service in all weathers. They are safe, swift under 
steam, and, in order that their expenditure of coal may be kept down to the minimum, 
they are provided with a considerable sail area. When cruising on the fishing grounds, 
sails alone can be used, when there is wind, and they serve as an important auxiliary 
power when making passages. 
Appended are descriptions and plans of some of the best types of European 
fishing steamers. It is believed by the writer that similar vessels, modified so as to 
meet local requirements, would be well adapted to engage in the New England market 
fishery. The question of building such vessels of wood, iron, or steel, is one that must be 
necessarily left entirely to the judgment of those who should have them constructed. 
In England iron is generally preferred, for the reason that it is so much more durable 
than wood. But, on the other hand, the Scotch fishermen have shown a preference 
for wooden vessels, though it is probable that they, also, will prefer iron instead as 
soon as they consider the period of experimentation has been passed. 
It will doubtless be found feasible to introduce on steamers the system of refrig- 
erating fish by use of ammonia, and at very small expense, since all the motive power 
required could be furnished by the engines without any material increase in cost. 
C.— NEED OF STEAMERS IN THE FISHERIES OF THE PACIFIC. 
To secure the best results in the market fishery of the Pacific, it seems eminently 
desirable that steamers should be employed, and the need for such vessels in that region 
is greater than on the Atlantic coast. In summer, calms and light winds are very prev- 
alent along the Pacific coast, while ice is expensive and often difficult to obtain. The 
lack of ice makes it impracticable to keep fish in a fresh condition for any consider- 
Bull. U. S. F, 0., 88—12 
