 The patrols focused on Southeast Alaska, and by 1939 logged an annual total of in 64 hours of flying.The fishery enforcement vessels and aircraft also provided transportation to Bureau of Fisheries personnel and assisted in the Bureau's scientific activities in Alaska.In 1940, the Fish and Wildlife Service took over the fleet of patrol boats and the aerial patrol mission, and continued fishery enforcement operations, including the use of stream watchmen, wardens, and chartered boat operators, until Alaska became a state in 1959 and began to assume the responsibility for fishery protection in its waters.