"𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐅𝐀𝐑 𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐅𝐈𝐒𝐇 𝐅𝐋𝐘?" 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐇𝐋𝐘 𝐂𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐅𝐈𝐒𝐇 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐍𝐒𝐕𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝟏𝟗𝟐𝟗 𝐕𝐈𝐀 𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐄

By Rene Torres

            

According to Pacific Fisherman, the first fish for commercial sale was transported by air in 1929. The transport of fish has a history dating back to the 1920's. It was during that era or soon after that the Brownsville Tex-Mex Transport Co. purchased three transport planes.

The planes were manufactured by the Stinson Aircraft Company that fulfilled the specific needs. The planes were used for rapid transportation of fish from the fishing grounds to a main post of distribution.

The standard plane included a special constructed refrigerator for a flight from Mexico’s Soto la Marina on the Gulf of Mexico to Brownsville—which than the movement of fish was distributed by train. The trip of 350 miles was made in 3 and half hours with a minimum of 1,500-pound load. The icebox preserved the fish perfectly.

The ancient task of hauling fish to market became modernized to the n-th degree with the introduction of the refrigerated airplane. The Tex-Mex company was ahead of its times with the ancient technology of then.

NOTE: The photograph shows the opening to the refrigerator and pilot’s compartment, with provisions for two people. The plane carried 97 gallons of gasoline, enough for a non-stop flight of 700 miles.