Palatka daily news. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1919-1994, 1919-10-29
AIRPLANES spy
OUT HIDDEN FISH
Schools That Escape the Eye in
Crows Nest Readily Seen
From Plane.
USE IN CATCHES IS SHOWN
Flight Made by Navy Craft eares
Worth as Locator and Time
SaVer-Act as Guide to
Steamers.

New York.--A new use for air
| planes had been found. Schools o.
fish for which the. fishing fleets along
the coast may search vainly for day!
can be detected from a seaplane, &C
cording to report by W. W. Welsh
of the bureau of fisheries.
The report of Mr.. Welsh followed g
trip he made in naval seaplane from
the Cape May naval air station. The
flight was made at from 500 to 1,O0C
feet and at a speed Of 10 miles an
hour. At the time Of the flight nc
schooling fish were breaking water on
the surface, and none could be seen
from the crows nest of a vessel or
from fishing piers.
'"The plane assembled rapidly to
about 800 feet, and most of the trip
was made at that altitude" Mr.. Welsh
reported. Sew schools of fish were
seen at first, but as my eye grew ac-
customed to the conditions many small
schools of menhaden were observed,
all moving at some depth, and none
Of them breaking water. Some schools
were so near the surface that they
appeared as a reddish brown granu-
lar mass, ameboid in character and
changing form constantly.
Large Schools Observed.
Sleeper schools had the appearance
of large masses of sunken gulfweed,
and others were so deep that they
could be distinguished chiefly by the
shadow they caused on the suspended
particles in the water From COM
parisen with other objects seen at
known depths it is estimated that the
depth of the schools varied from
abont two feet to ten feet, or pos
sibly more.
"One school Of silver fish was OBJ
served breaking water. Those were
possibly weakfsh, certainly not men
baden, as they lacked the characters
tic color of the Latter. A, school of
porpoises was clearly seen and could
be followed under water.
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, blueflsh, 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 en-
abling the fishermen to keep in touch
with the fish as they appeared farther
north. The chief service rendered
would be notification of fishermen Of
the general vicinity of the schools and
1t would require actual trial and prac-
tice to determine how much could be
done in directing the fishing vessels to
particular schools by means of radio
telephone or other methods of signal
ing.
&. Most Promising Field.
"Tt would appear that the menhad-
en- fishery offers. the most promising
field for experiment in this direction.
In the case Of a region like the mouth
of Chesapeake bay, where there are
large menhaden interests, and where
there is a naval air station convenient |
ly located, the conditions would seem
to be excellent for the development |.
Of tactics in the use of aircraft to as
sist fishing operations. The benefit
to the fishing fleet would be in time
and fuel saved in the searching for
fish and in the concentration Of ef-
fort on large schools instead of vast
ing time on small, scattered punches .
Of fish.
SIT is quite possible also that
schools of large fish might be distin-
suished from those of smaller, leaner
fish, although this would require ex-
Derience in observation. Another field
FOR experiment would lie in the guild
ince of fishing steamers to large
schools not visible from the crOsstrees,
)ut plainly visible from aircraft, and
by means of wireless
telephone, barking buoys or other de-
ices would enable the boats to set
he seine around the fish invisible to
hem. Such cooperation would be of
,reat advantage to the naval air serv-
ce as welleas to the fishing interests,
IS it would provide for the naval avi-
tors excellent practice in scouting,
tation finding and communication"