The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) honored the late Dr. Bell M. Shimada, a Nisei Japanese American fishery scientist, by naming a fisheries survey vessel in his name in Moss Point, Miss.
The 208-foot Bell M. Shimada was launched on Sept. 26. It is the fourth vessel of a class designed to collect data on the nation’s commercial fisheries, other sea life, and ocean conditions.
Shimada was born in Seattle and attended the University of Washington School of Fisheries in 1939. He obtained his doctorate degree from the UW in 1956. By this time, he was a senior scientist, and he developed and published valuable information on the spawning, distribution, and feeding patterns of tuna, gaining national and international recognition.
Shimada married the late Rae Shimojima, a native of Portland, Ore. She was a secretary to the POFI Director. They have two children, Allen and Julie.