Well, it’s finally happened—absolutely nothing of interest to your Old West characters occurred on December 13! However, I did find one interesting tidbit from the East Coast.
The first U.S. Fish Commissioner, Spencer Baird (yes, there is a U.S. Fish Commissioner), was charged with raising fish to help rebuild depleted stocks around the country. He began by transporting new fish species via railroad. However, NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) soon came up with the idea of a floating hatchery that could travel between sites. And thus, on December 13, 1979, the first federal fish hatching steamer, the R/V Fish Hawk, was launched.
Fish Hawk was a 156-foot coal-burning steamer, the first large vessel built by any nation specifically to promote fishery. She was a floating hatchery and laboratory outfitted for general scientific research. Congress appropriated $45,000 for her construction and the Fish Commission chose a design by C.W. Copeland of the U.S. Lighthouse Board. The Fish Hawk was built by the Pusey and Jones Company in Wilmington, Delaware. She had a fore--and-aft two-masted schooner rig, coal-fired steam propulsion, and twin screws. She was designed more for coastal work rather than oceanic research, with an iron hull sheathed with about three inches of yellow pine, caulked and coppered. Above the main deck, Fish Hawk was of wooden construction. The pilot’s house, captain’s quarters, and a laboratory were built on a promenade deck extending along the entire length and across the entire width of the ship.
Fisheries scientists of that time believed that successful spawning was “the most significant factor in the productivity of fisheries.” American shad was “a priority,” as the most important fishery in the United States. Since shad “runs” only lasted for a month in any given location, a floating fish hatchery that could move along the coast was deemed more cost-effective than erecting shad hatcheries along the entire East Coast.
Herring, mackerel, and striped bass in coastal waters were also a focus for the Fish Hawk. Her main deck was covered with hatching equipment, with a pump supplying 10,000 U.S. gallons per hour. Two 500-gallon distribution tanks fed the equipment. Fertilized fish eggs were placed in the 36 hatching cones, each able to hatch 200,000 American shad eggs. Feed valves regulated the current through the cones to keep the eggs gently in motion so they would not mat or settle to the bottom. Fish Hawk also had 18 hatching cylinders – each capable of holding 250,000 eggs – with wire gauze bottoms. The cylinders were suspended from beams hanging over the sides of the ship and partially submerged, with nine on each side. Machinery raised and lowered the cylinders, keeping the eggs in circulation.
Most often, the Fish Hawk was used for dredging and trawling around Cape Cod, in the Gulf of Maine, in Long Island Sound, and in other coastal waters. She also trawled and dredged out to the edge of the continental shelf from Maine to Florida. The ship was outfitted to conduct general scientific research related to fisheries, including depth sounding, measuring the temperature of the sea bottom, and collecting marine plants and animals. Fish Hawk is famous for the discovery of 60 new species of fish and mollusks, including tilefish in 1880. She had a hoisting winch with 1,000 fathoms (6,000 feet) of steel cable for trawling and dredging, an otter trawl, and three sizes of beam trawls (9-, 11-, and 17-foot). Fish Hawk also had Blake and Chester rake dredges and a tangle bar (an iron axle with wheels and bundles of rope yarn on chains that dragged the bottom to capture plants and animals). For hydrography, she had a sounding machine with 600 fathoms (3,600 feet) of piano wire, with deep-sea reversing thermometers and density salinometers.
Fish Hawk carried a number of smaller boats: a 24-foot steam cutter, a 24-foot ten-oared cutter, a 24-foot gig, a 17-foot dinghy, and several 18-foot flat-bottomed boats (used for spawn-taking). She had a crew of 84 and berthing for another 25 people on temporary assignment, such as scientists, technicians, or civilian observers. She made her last two cruises in late 1925 and was decommissioned in January 1926.
As I said, it would be highly unlikely for your Old West characters to have even heard of the fishery department, much less the U.S.S. Fish Hawk, but they could always have friends or relatives on the East Coast who might pass the word along. At any rate, a floating fish maternity ward is fun to learn about.
J.E.S. Hays
www.jeshays.com
www.facebook.com/JESHaysBooks
