The Fayette falcon. (Somerville, Tenn.) 190?-current, 1919-10-17
Schools That Escape the Eye in
Crows Nest Readily Seen
From Plane.
Use IN CATCHES IS SHOWN
Flight Made by Navy Craft 5ares
Worth as Locator and Time
Saver-Act as Guide to
Steamers.

New YOrk.-A new use for air
planes had been found. Schools Of
fish for which the fishing fleets along
the coast may search vainly for days
can be detected from a seaplane, ac-
cording to report by w. w. Welsh
OF the bureau of fisheries.
The report of Mr.. Welsh foil, wed a
trip he made in a naval seaplane from
the Cape May naval air station. The
flight was made at from 500 to 1000
feet and at a speed of 20 miles an
hour. At the time of the flight no
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, amebold in character and
changing form constantly.
Large Schools Observed.
Deeper 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
parison with other objects seen at
known depths 1t Is estimated that the
depth of the schools varied II from
about two feet to ten feet or pos.
sibly more
zone school of silver fish was OBJ.
served breaking water Those were
possibly weakfish. certainly not men
haden, as they lacked the characters
tic color of the latter. A school Of
porpolses was clearly seen and could
be followed under water.
r. 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, bluefsh, bluebacks, kyacks
and other schooling fish. In the case
of the spring mackerel fishery 1t 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
II 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.
70 Most Promising Field.
ut would appear that the menhad-
en- fishery offers the most promising
field for experiment In this direction.
In the case Of 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 eff.
fort on large schools instead of vast