The spotter pilots fly their planes all hours of the day and night. It is not uncommon for them to be aloft for periods up to 7 hours at a stretch and during the season the fliers will spend as many as 16 hours a day aloft. The operations range from Point Conception, with occasional trips farther North, and south to San Diego. They search all the channel islands which lie from 15 to 60 miles offshore and also explore banks as far as 90 miles offshore. Flying these distances offshore in light airplanes and at night is extremely hazardous, yet only two men have been lost in Southern California since 1946, when plane spotting for fish started.

Several methods of operation have been tried in the past, but the most successful seems to be a plane which has 5 or 6 steady" vessels. The spotter reports exclusively to these vessels, usually in code. Handling more than this number of vessels causes arguments and difficulty, as fishermen continually harass the pilot claiming he favors one vessel against the others, etc.

While plane spotting for fish appears to be successful in that numerous catches are made by fishermen when they cannot see the fish because the spotter directs the setting of the net from the air, there is still pessimism on the part of some as to whether or not more fish is actually caught on an annual basis by those vessels assisted by plane spotters. There is no doubt that if an individual vessel would operate exclusively with one plane he would do better, but the way the planes are spread out among the vessels it is difficult to accurately gage the net results.

Plane spotters were also used in the clipper bait-boat fleet fishing for tuna. Although they operated for several years and some results were reported, all of them have been abandoned. The chief use of planes by the clipper fleet was in the location of bait. When the clipper had to sail inshore to find bait, it could be directed to a location where bait was available. This saved much running around. The spotting of tuna also proved helpful, but schools of tuna move so rapidly that information as much as an hour away is generally worthless, for by the time the vessel reached the fish they had moved. Other reasons for the abandonment was the high cost of maintenence, the difficulty of hoisting the planes abroad on the high seas, difficulty encountered in making landings on the high seas, and the reluctance of pilots to take these jobs, because conditions were hazardous.

There is no question that fish can be readily spotted and identified from the plane, much wider areas can be covered than by a single vessel, and fish can be caught when they cannot be seen from the vessel itself. The chief problem of plane spotting in California is in the organization of the effort being made and is basically due to the returns to the pilot. It is not feasible for an individual vessel to hire a plane as the expenses would outweigh the vessel's proceeds. Thus it becomes necessary for a pilot to operate with a fleet of vessels, and in so doing he cannot serve the individual vessels as well.

--BY A. D. SOKOLICH, MARKET NEWS REPORTER,
BRANCH OF MARKET NEWS,

U. S. BUREAU OF COMMERCIAL FISHERIES,
SAN PEDRO, CALIF.

Cans--Shipments for Fishery Products, January-March 1958

Total shipments of metal cans during January-March 1958 amounted to 22,772 short tons of steel (based on the amount of steel consumed in the manufacture of cans) as compared with 20,882 tons in the same month a year ago. Canning of fishery products in January-March this year was confined largely to tuna, Pacific mackerel, anchovies, shrimp, Gulf oyster, and clams. The increase in shipments in the first quarter of 1958 as compared to the same quarter of 1957 is due to the expectations of more activity in tuna and salmon canning this year.

RE

NOTE: STATISTICS COVER ALL COMMERCIAL AND CAPTIVE PLANTS KNOWN TO BE PRODUCING METAL CANS.
PORTED IN BASE BOXES OF STEEL CONSUMED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CANS, THE DATA FOR FISHERY PRODUCTS
ARE CONVERTED TO TONS OF STEEL BY USING THE FACTOR: 23.0 BASE BOXES OF STEEL EQUAL ONE SHORT TON
OF STEEL.

Coast & Geodetic Survey

CHARTING OF COASTAL WATERS BEGINS: The Coast and Geodetic Survey, U. S. Department of Commerce, announced on April 1, 1958, that the major units of the Survey's fleet were due to sail for summer surveying assignments along the country's coasts.

Since the Survey was founded in 1807 steady progress has been maintained in surveying and charting more than 90,000 miles of coastline. Some of the areas scheduled for this summer, especially in Alaska, have never been charted in detail. Even along our muchtraveled Atlantic coast, threats to navigation are present in the form of recent wrecks, shoreline changes, and dangerous shoals.

Survey officials stated that these changes, as well as new lights, buoys, and other aids to navigation must be noted on the Survey's charts as they are published.

Due to the urgent demand for surveys in some areas, of the Survey's ships were already at work prior

to April 1. Those in southern waters continued opera-
tions throughout the winter.

Sailing dates and ports of departure for 10 of the
Survey ships were as follows:

St. Petersburg, Fla.: April 3, the Hydrographer, sailed to Georges Bank in the Gulf of Maine to complete a survey that was started in April 1957. It is the first to be made of this important fishing ground in the vicinity of Georges Bank and Nantuckets Shoals in 26 years.

Norfolk, Va.: April 2, the Survey ship Cowie, resumed surveys in the lower Chesapeake Bay in the vicinity of Onancock Creek and southward. It is expected that this project will be completed before the close of the season and the ship will be moved to the entrance to the Potomac River.

April 7, the Hilgard and Wainwright, also at Norfolk, were assigned to complete "wire-drag" operations that

were started last season in the vicinity of Isle au Haut, Maine. The ships will also undertake a hydrographic survey off Schoodic Peninsula, Maine, near the Acadia National Park. A wire-drag is a metal cable that, when pulled through the water at a predetermined depth by two vessels, detects uncharted rocks or wrecks that may be hazards.

Seattle Wash: April 2, the Bowie, has been assigned to the Columbia River area. The Bowie is supported by the West Coast Field Party utilizing hydrographic launches.

April 7, three of the surveying ships sailed from this port for southeast Alaska. They are the Hodgson, the Patton, and the Lester Jones.

April 9, the Pathfinder, one of the Survey's largest ships, was making a wire-drag survey of Guemes Channel in Puget Sound. The survey is being made at the request of the Texas Company to assure that there are no obstructions for the deep draft tankers which will bring in Middle East oil to the Company's new refinery on Fidalgo Island. The channel will be swept to a depth of 50 feet.

April 16, the Pathfinder sailed for Kasaan Bay in southeast Alaska where it will complete a survey project before departing for Dutch Harbor, Aleutian Islands. En route to Dutch Harbor the Pathfinder conducted oceanographic investigations in the vicinity of Pamplona sea ridge, lat. 59°32' N., long. 142°35' W. Bottom samples were obtained by dredging and deep-sea soundings were made. She will then survey the north coast of the Alaskan Peninsula. Her sister ship, the Explorer, sailed directly to the Aleutians, across the Gulf of Alaska. It was from crossings such as this that information was pieced together which led to the discovery of

an extensive crack on the Gulf's floor last September.
The Explorer will concentrate on Atka Pass and the
south coast of Atka Island.

An electronic distance-measuring device, the Tellurometer, which was field tested in the Aleutians last season and later used on the Interstate Highway surveys in this country, will be used to establish the control points for Explorer's survey along the north and south sides of Amlia Island.

Four ships at work prior to April 1 are: The Marmer, which is now making a circularitory survey of New York Harbor. The Gilbert, making a current survey of Georgetown Harbor, S. C. The Sosbee, is continuing a survey of Tampa Bay, Fla., which should be completed within a year. One unit of the East Coast Field Party, which has been supporting the Sosbee in Tampa Bay, left St. Petersburg about April 1, to survey a portion of the St. Johns River adjacent to the Naval Air Station at Jacksonville, Fla. The last survey to be made in the area was in 1934-35. The Scott is now making an inspection of the east coast from Norfolk, Va., to Key West. The information will be used in revisions of the Coast Pilots which are books that contain detailed information to supplement the charts.

The Coast and Geodetic Survey's responsibility for charting the coastal waters of the United States and its possessions involves over 90,000 miles of tidal shoreline and about 25 million square miles of water area. In order to accomplish this task the Survey has resorted to modern electronic instruments such as Raydist, Shoran, and the Electronic Position Indicator which are used to determine the ships position. The water's depth is determined by the sonic depth recorder, another electronic device that accurately measures the time it takes a sound wave to travel to the bottom and return as an echo.

Federal Purchases of Fishery Products

Table 1 Fresh and Frozen Fishery Products, Purchased by Military Subsistence Market Centers, April 1958 with Comparisons

QUANTITY

April

Jan.-April

VALUE

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE PURCHASES, JANUARY-APRIL 1958: Fresh and Frozen Fishery Products: A total of 2.2 million pounds (value $1.2 million) of fresh and frozen fishery products were purchased in April 1958 for the use of the Armed Forces under the Department of Defense by the Military Subsistence Market Centers. The April 1958 purchases were higher than the purchases in the preceding month by 31.4 percent and above the same month in 1957 by 21.5 percent. The value of the purchases this April exceeded the March 1958 purchases by 18.1 percent and the April 1957 purchases by 22.7 percent.

April Jan.-April 1958 1957 1958 1957 1958 1957 1958 1957 (1,000 Lbs.) 2,232 |1,837 | 7,256 |7,376 1,190 | 970 4,142 3,832

Table 2 Canned Fishery Products Purchased by
Military Subsistence Market Centers,
April 1958 with Comparisons
QUANTITY

April Jan. -April April | Jan.-April

1957 1958 1957 (1,000 Lbs.)

VALUE

Products

1958

1958
.($1,000). . .
482

992 51

724

Salmon
Sardine.

12

($1,000)

For the first four months of 1958 purchases totaled 7.3 million pounds, valued at $4.1 million--a decrease of 1.6 percent in quantity, but 8.1 percent higher in value as compared with January-April 1957.

Canned Fishery Products: Tuna was the principal canned fishery product purchased by the Military Subsistence Mar

ket Centers in April 1958. During the first four months of 1958 the total purchases of canned fish were up 24.2 percent from the same period of 1957.

NOTE: SOME LOCAL PURCHASES ARE NOT INCLUDED. ACTUAL PURCHASES ARE HIGHER THAN INDICATED BECAUSE IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO OBTAIN LOCAL PURCHASES.

Fisheries Loan Fund

LOANS THROUGH MAY 14, 1958: As of May 14, 1958, a total of 436 applications for fisheries loans totaling $15,905,558 had been received. Of these 220 ($5,701,592) have been approved, and 124 ($3,485,246) have been declined. As several applications have been deferred indefinitely at the request of the applicants, sufficient funds have been available to process all applications received to date. Unless the amount of funds applied for increases unexpectedly, funds will be available to process applications received during the next two months without delay.

The following loans have been approved between July 1, 1957, and May 14, 1958:

New England Area: Kenneth L. Lovett, Rye, N. H., $4,500; Franklin L. Libby, Beals, Me., $3,000; Charles A. Bennett, Provincetown, Mass., $6,000; Samuel Cottle, Jr., Wakefield, R. I., $27,825; Bluewaters, Inc., Gloucester, Mass., $53,000; Pasquale Maniscalco, Somerville, Mass., $43,195; Harmon Tibbetts, Jr., Boothbay Harbor, Me., $2,000; Silver Sea Inc., Portland, Me., $42,282; O'Hara Bros. Co., Inc., Boston, Mass., $102,800; Vandal, Inc., Portland, Me., $25,000; Gerald L. Small, Owls Head, Me., $1,000; Cumberland Fisheries, Portland Me., $46,000; Salvatore Passanisi, Somerville, Mass., $53,300; Lorenzo Sossanno, Gloucester, Mass., $40,000; Muskegon, Inc., Portland, Me., $32,000; Boat M. C. Ballard, Inc., Boston, Mass., $39,910; Trawler Bonnie Billow, Inc., Boston, Mass., $35,062; Warren S. Martin, Portland, Me., $6,000; Cleary Corp., New Bedford, Mass., $51,500; Lubenray Inc., Fairhaven, Mass., $39,500; Boat Camden Inc., New Bedford, Mass, $34,600; Robert McLellan, Boothbay Harbor, Me., $23,500; John Bruno & Son Co., Inc,, Boston, Mass., $27,121; Boat Mary Anne, Inc., New Bedford, Mass., $40,000; Charles C. Miller, Point Pleasant N. J., $20,469; James Maniscalco, Somerville, Mass., $36,000; Albert M. Bridges, Brooklin, Me., $4,000; John Field, Monhegan Island, Me., $3,000; Attilio Marchetti, Newport, R. I., $8,500; Henry S. Powell, Waldoboro, Me., $7,000; Segura & Segura, Provincetown, Mass., $7,684; John Wright Morton II, Scarborough, Me., $12,000; Marco A. Giacalone, Boston, Mass., $36,000; and Cosimo Parco, Gloucester, Mass., $35,000; total, $948,748.

Middle Atlantic Area: Charles H. Smyth, Jr., Absecon, N. J., $4,000.

South Atlantic and Gulf Area: E. H. Holton T/A, Vandemere, N. C., $125,000; Valcour Vizier, Cut Off, La., $19,306; W. C. Mobley, Aransas, Tex., $24,000; Fred F. Sanders Seafood, Inc., Savannah, Ga., $49,324; J. H. Morgan, McIntosh, Ga., $20,000; Louie Rash-Cecil Drake, Pascagoula, Miss., $32,000; Wm. Milton Anders, Kemah, Tex., $15,500; Paul V. Pitre & Louis J. Pitre, Cut Off, La., $28,000; Billy Jay Brown, New Orleans, La., $10,991; Monroe & Guy Taylor, Sea Level, N. C., $18,569; Richard H. Jones, Fernandina Beach, Fla., $16,000; Hilton Toomer, Key West, Fla., $14,000; Richard W. Marshall, Gulfport, Miss., $5,800, and Robert D. Smallwood, Jr., Everglades, Fla., $24,500; total, $402,990.

California: Darrell D. Foreman, Costa Mesa, $10,000; Charles E. Graham, San Diego, $5,000; Malcolm S. Rice, San Diego, $87,780; R. Carpenter & Sons, Bodega Bay, $10,000; Anthony F. Bozanich, San Pedro, $30,000; Grover V. Nell, San Diego, $8,900; Nick Trutanich, San Pedro, $68,000; Josie Scuito, San Diego, $75,000; N. F. Trutanic, San Pedro, $130,000; Charles L. & Catherine N. White, San Diego, $1,383; Floyd A. Hill, San Diego, $4,975; and Michael F. Schroeder, , $4,363; total, $435,401.

Hawaii: John A. Hodges, Lanikai, Oahu, $9,000; Harold Fujiwara, Waialua, Oahu, $7,290; and Mitsuo Higashi, Waimea, Kauai, $3,250; total, 19,450.

Pacific Northwest Area: Grant U. Baldwin, Westport, Wash., $2,500; K. R. Thomas, Chehalis, Wash., $7,000; A. T. Davies - Tuna Vessel Commander Inc., Tacoma, Wash., $47,187; A. T. Davies, Seafarer, Inc., Tacoma, Wash., $66,872; Kaare Angell, Snohomish, Wash., $10,000; Richard Branshaw, Tokeland, Wash., $5,000; Martin L. Smith, Rockaway, Ore., $6,000; Clarence R. Bushnell, Tokeland, Wash., $9,634; John W. Nevill, Seattle, Wash., $3,200; Albert A. Anderson, Seattle, Wash., $2,500; Robert Egelkrout, Burlington, Wash., $15,000; John W. Nevill, Seattle, Wash., $1,575; Frank E. Deiner, Edwards, Wash., $2,500; Lawrence T. Fleming, Chehalis, Wash., $3,500; Cal Scott Cutler, Westport, Wash., $1,650; Boat Daily, Seattle, Wash., $10,000; James H. Cope, Seattle, Wash., $15,000; Erling Jacobsen, Seattle, Wash., $22,000; Joseph & Peter Evich, Bellingham, Wash., $25,000; and Samuel E. Hendricksen, Seattle, Wash., $10,000; total, $266,118.

Alaska: Gerald G. Bennett, Ketchikan, $1,200; Charles E. Swan, Douglas, $750; Allen Sandstrom, Cordova, $2,500; and Orville F. Wagner, Idaho Inlet, $8,000; total, $12,450.

Great Lakes Area: William Brown, Croswell, Mich., $8,000. NOTE: ALSO SEE COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW, AUGUST 1957, P. 18.

Fishery Marketing Specialist GS-5 Examination

The U. S. Civil Service Commission announced on February 18, 1958, Announcement No. 156 (B), an assembled examination for positions of Fishery Marketing Specialists, GS-5 ($3670 a year). A list of places where examination will be held accompanies this announcement. The examination remains open until further notice.

The positions to be filled from this examination are located in the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of the Interior, and other Federal agencies in Washington, D. C. and throughout the United States, its Territories and possessions.

Fishery Marketing Specialists' work relates to fishery production and marketing. The duties involve investigation and market research concerning commercial fisheries or fishery commodities; also perform work relating to Fishery Market News reporting services--collection, analysis, and dissemination of information relating to production, supply, demand, movement, distribution, prices, and other phases of marketing. In some of these positions a small amount of typing is expected.

Except for the substitution of education for experience, applicants must have had 3 years of responsible experience in any position involving (a) the collection and compilation of market information and statistics on fishery products and the preparation from such data of analytical articles or bulletins for publication; or (b) marketing research requiring knowledge of commercial methods and practices in producing, processing,

Announcement No. 156 (B)
Issued: May 6, 1958
No Closing Date

transporting, or marketing of fishery products; or (c) accounting, market promotional, or production activities in the fisheries requiring a good knowledge of methods and practices in that field. The experience must have been of a progressively responsible nature.

Study successfully completed at an accredited college or university may be substituted for experience as follows: (1) Four years of study which included courses as shown in (a) or (b) below may be substituted for a maximum of 3 years of experience: (a) At least 10 semester hours or 15 quarter hours in fisheries subjects. Majors may include fish and game management, fish and wildlife conservation, biology, and zoology. (b) At least 10 semester hours or 15 quarter hours in economics of food or marketing of food or in statistics. Majors may be economics, business administration, marketing or statistics. Less than 4 years of education may be substituted for experience at the rate of 1 year of education for 9 months of experience provided that such education included a proportionate number of semester hours in the qualifying subjects above. (2) Study with a major in economics or marketing in fields other than food may be substituted for experience at the rate of 1 academic year of education for 6 months of experience, not to exceed 2 years of the required experience.

Competitors for all positions will be required to take a written test designed to measure their ability to understand, learn, and interpret regulations and practices and in general, to perform the duties of the position. The test will include interpretations of written paragraphs, the meanings of words, arithmetic computations and problems, and some questions involving spatial ability. Samples of the tests on Form AN 3514 (see questions 1 through 8) will be furnished to applicants with their notices of admission to the written test. About 2 hours will be required for the written test.

Competitors will be rated on the written test on a basis of 100. To pass the written test, competitors must attain a rating of at least 70.

You must also show that you are a United States citizen; that you are physically able to do the work involved in the position for which you apply; and that you have reached your 18th birthday on the date of filing application. There is no maximum age limit for this examination.

For further information on how to apply for this examination write to any Civil Service Regional Office, or U. S. Civil Service Commission, Washington 25, D. C. NOTE: ALSO SEE COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW, JUNE 1958, P. 27.

Florida

SHRIMP TAGGING PROGRAM: The multimillion dollar fishery for pink shrimp out of Key West, on the Tortugas grounds, depends on the shallow-water brackish areas at the southern tip of Florida for its supply of shrimp. The Everglades National Park area is part of the "nursery" grounds where tiny shrimp grow, protected from the dangers of oceanic life. When the shrimp get to be about 3-4 inches long they move seaward in enormous numbers. Later, when they become larger, they are caught by night-fishing trawlers out of Key West, Fort Myers, and other south Florida ports. The adult shrimp, as much as 7-8 inches long, spawn offshore and their microscopic larvae drift shoreward into Park waters.

Biologists of the Marine Laboratory of the University of Miami suspected that the large numbers of small shrimp seen in the Park waters were probably the young of the big shrimp caught offshore, but until recently this was not certain.