AERIAL HELP FOR FISHERMEN

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 65, 9 December 1938, Page 11

AERIAL HELP FOR FISHERMEN

Herring Shoals Located By Planes ("Dominion” Special Service: By Airmail.) LONDON, November 25. A great source of expense and delay to the fishing companies that operate tlie herring-drifters in tlie North Sea is the necessity for protracted steaming about in search of .shoals of fish. Fishing-boats operating off the Shetland Islands alone number about 300. and it is estimated that a total of some £90,000 is spent during the season by these boats in reconnoitering the fish-ing-grounds.

Experiments have recently been made by two members of a fishing company in order to apply the principles of aerial observation to the discovery of herring-shoals, and their efforts have been so successful Unit tlie British Herring Industry Board is considering the possibility of subsidizing further tests.

It appears that the observers must not only be able pilots but also experienced in practical herring fishing, and with the latter qualification it is possible to pick out not only the shoals of herring breaking the surface of the sea, but also shoals swimming below the surface. The large catches obtained by air-craft-directed boats are astonishing. Two boats tints operated got catches of 87 and 75 ernns respectively (a eran is equivalent to 750 fish). A third boat in the same area, relying on tier normal look-out. only obtained 30 ernns. Another aircraft-directed vessel got 110 ernns. while her unassisted companion-ship only got 15 crans. Though the manager of one fishing company has claimed that aerial observation has brought thousands of pounds to his fleet, it does not follow that such satisfactory results can be obtained in all regions and under all conditions, and the board concludes that tlie success of those particular experiments must largely be attributed to the practical fishing experience ol the oliservers.