USFC Fish Hawk
Fish Hawk ca. 1900
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| History | |
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  United States
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| Name: | USFC Fish Hawk |
| Namesake: | Fish hawk, an alternative name for the osprey |
| Builder: | Pusey and Jones Company, Wilmington, Delaware |
| Completed: | 1880 |
| Commissioned: | Spring 1880 |
| Decommissioned: | January 1926 |
| Homeport: | Woods Hole, Massachusetts |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Floating fish hatchery and fisheries research ship |
| Displacement: | 484 tons |
| Length: | 157 ft (48 m) |
| Propulsion: | Steam, coal-fired, two screws |
| Sail plan: | Fore-and-aft two-masted schooner rig |
| Crew: | 84, plus up to 25 additional personnel on temporary assignment |
USFC Fish Hawk was a fisheries research ship operated by the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries and its successor, the United States Bureau of Fisheries, from 1880 to 1926. She was the first large ship purpose-built by any country for the promotion of fisheries, and spent her 46-year career operating along the United States East Coast, in the Gulf of Mexico, and off Puerto Rico.
From its foundation in 1871, the U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries, more generally known as the U.S. Fish Commission, recognized a need for ships to operate along the coast of the United States to engage in exploration, conduct surveys, and perform scientific research on marine resources. In addition, fishery scientists of the time believed that successful spawning was the most significant factor in the productivity of fisheries; the spawning of American shad at the time was the most important fishery in the United States, and because shad runs lasted only a month in any given location, a floating fish hatchery that could move along the coast was deemed more cost-effective than constructing shad hatcheries along the entire U.S. East Coast.
The United States Department of the Navy loaned the Fish Commission a small steam launch to conduct its field work during the summer of 1871. The Commission had no ship in 1872, but during each summer from 1873 through 1875 the Navy Department loaned it the 100-ton steamer Blue Light. The Commission again had no ship in 1876, but the Navy Department loaned it the 306-ton steamer Spedwell during the summers of 1877, 1878, and 1879. These vessels were only minimally modified for fisheries research work, with only primitive equipment installed. The Fish Commission clearly required a vessel designed specifically for service as a floating hatchery and fisheries research ship, and so in 1879 the United States Congress appropriated $45,000 (USD) for the construction of a fisheries research steamer to be named Fish Hawk.
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