 US FWS Charles H. Gilbert in the 1950s.
| |
  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | |
|---|---|
| Name | US FWS Charles H. Gilbert |
| Namesake | Charles Henry Gilbert (1859–1928), pioneer American ichthyologist and fishery biologist |
| Completed | 1952 |
| Acquired | April 1952 |
| Commissioned | 30 April 1952 |
| Decommissioned | February 1973 |
| Homeport |
|
| Fate | Transferred to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 3 October 1970 |
  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | |
| Name | NOAAS Charles H. Gilbert |
| Namesake | Previous name retained |
| Acquired | 3 October 1970 |
| Decommissioned | February 1973 |
| Homeport | Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Identification | FWS 1003 |
| Fate | Sold August 1973 |
| United States | |
| Name | MV Charles H. Gilbert |
| Namesake | Previous name retained |
| In service | ca. August 1973 |
| Renamed | MV Jade Alaska 1977 |
| Homeport |
|
| Fate | Sank 20 February 2007 |
| General characteristics (in 1965) | |
| Type | Fisheries research ship |
| Tonnage | 196.5 gross register tons |
| Length | 119 ft 9 in (36.5 m) overall |
| Propulsion | 650 hp (485 kW) diesel engine, one shaft |
| Speed |
|
| Range | 8,500 nmi (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) |
| Endurance | 80 days |
| Crew | 12, plus 4 embarked scientists |
| Notes | Information from Progress in 1962–63, Circular 206, U.S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Hawaii Area Biological Laboratory, Honolulu, Hawaii, February 1965, and Merchant Vessels of the United States (including Yachts), 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1981]. |
| General characteristics (as commercial fishing vessel) | |
| Type | Commercial fish tender |
| Tonnage |
|
| Length | 114.6 ft (34.9 m) |
| Beam | 21 ft (6.4 m) |
| Depth | 8.4 ft (2.6 m) |
| Propulsion | 650 hp (485 kW) diesel engine, one shaft |
| Crew | 3 |
| Notes | Information from Progress in 1962–63, Circular 206, U.S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Hawaii Area Biological Laboratory, Honolulu, Hawaii, February 1965, and Merchant Vessels of the United States (including Yachts), 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1981]. |
US FWS Charles H. Gilbert (FWS 1003) was an American fisheries science research vessel in commission from 1952 to 1970 in the fleet of the United States Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service and from 1970 to 1973 in the fleet of the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration as NOAAS Charles H. Gilbert. She was among the first U.S. fisheries science vessels to explore the central Pacific Ocean in search of commercially valuable populations of fish.
Originally designed for exploratory fishing using longline and live-bait techniques to determine the distribution of tuna in the central Pacific, her role evolved over the years as she underwent modifications to better support the research of fisheries scientists and marine biologists as their understanding of tuna biology increased, and by 1960 she had become a marine research station capable of longlining, trawling, transporting live bait, and gathering oceanographic data.[1] In 1959, she became the only tuna-fishing vessel in the world outfitted with observation chambers incorporating underwater viewports, which gave embarked scientists an unprecedented ability to observe directly the behavior of tuna and bait fish in the water (rather than infer their behavior through statistical analysis ashore) and record the behavior for future study through the use of still photography and film.[1] She also gathered meteorological data and even made gravimetric observations in support of geophysical analysis of the Earth.
During a long and active career, Charles H. Gilbert ranged widely through the central, northern, and eastern Pacific to study the Pacific tuna fishery, transport live bait from other locales to Hawaii so that it could be introduced in Hawaiian waters,[1] and make her oceanographic, meteorological, and geophysical observations. From her home port at Honolulu, Hawaii, her 130 cruises took her southeast to the Marquesas Islands, south to Tahiti, southwest to New Caledonia, well to the northwest and north in the North Pacific, northeast as far as Oregon, and east to the coast of Mexico. In a 1967 summary of her contribution to fisheries science on the occasion of her 100th cruise, the a U.S. Fish and Wildlife official offered the opinion that virtually everything known about the distribution and behavior or tuna at that time was thanks to her operations.[1]
After the conclusion of her United States Government service, the ship became a commercial fishing vessel, initially named MV Charles H. Gilbert and later MV Jade Alaska. She operated commercially until she sank in 2007.