LURED BY LIGHT

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 85, 4 January 1919, Page 11

LURED BY LIGHT

.••"'-NEW HAGIG FOR BIG FISH HAULS' ;; rRESyi.TPFAFKIGHT 1 ' ; Next year, uccordiiis to accounts,- ■ the Gißiit K-jli'orinuii is to nmteriiilijie (.sajs U.!e : Syllney ■"fcjun ,, ).' : Tlie Uiiiut liSlier'riiiim is hot : 'iV-iiaa : n, 'lint a liiucliine, a boating i'actory.'tliat. will be able in a 'iiifflit to-b-coop »i> 2i,8i0,00U liouuds or more of-iish, sort niid. pack tlieni into ' bins''lreeze: into hluclcs .ul ice the beat ■ffiffllv 'foocl ■.fishes," can "and ■ salt other v'iCi-ieties,'' « ; hil^' nt' flie saniV tune carry- . iu{,' : - on tim aii-ocess M.'ronimfftcture : asso-ciated'.witK'-.tke -lisji..oil,: iisU..scraii,..nslr meal'-' and -fertilKer,' industries. One. such machine will do the work-or ten thou;e!Ui(l'fislt6nn«i. 'A fish"«t»ry. this, euve■ly; but 'if we may'-'believc Captain Ly■'beck,- the- inv.eiitor, certainly not it ; 'nshy " Between.- iiveuty-uve' anil' thirty : iears ; 'ago'-Neils' A. -Lybeck-wns ; t-he sole, survivor 'Of., tliecrewof a fishing boatwlucli was.' o.ve'rturh'e'cl during a-otonn in hwiSQ-isli'-H-atei-a.. 'I'ieked J!B..)>} a-tramp steamer,' Ke was"taknn to; WiigUnd,. wher.ee ■he- sailed-for. l.mli»-iind engaged .111 <leqiBen- diving off.': Bombay.,: It was while 'walking to ocean, floor in a- diver s suit wltlf'leadeirsolcS'to' his' boots' 'that he got the fright "of His life, , and" with it the great idea which he hopes will Make- ins own and Jiumniiite's i'ortune. A beam of light .struck the' glass, of hi? holmcc, and 'as-,it"gr'eSir. i«'.'i?ftensity.'Lybeck euddenly tiecame ii>varo of a, fisjithat. was nil .horI'ible month and little I>ody bearing, down ■ripon: him'.' Jrom its: one. eye a ray-like 'a ifebarchlii'ht 'penetrated the wateivyards ■ahead; and : sjriaHer fish; 'blinded by the' light, swam;-unconsciously into the creature's maw. ."• parsing , : of. that fash was like a riiglifmare to Lybeck, but hinr-thp jden'.'.of the- fish-catchnig .invention, tho !)iiot(el' of which' he has ieeii eshibitins recently. in ; New lork. '.■. .'■ <y. : y -Moths of .the; /D.cjep.-. '••• Cap'fam'-Lylieclf- "is '■ ap'parently e.tperienoing th*. difficult) 1 , which oftentimes besets ' itiveiitbis in "-getting: the world -to'ldiik''kindly'tipon a-new idea. .-when a representative.' of "•Tlie : Sul!""ihentipned tKe"-,i«atior:.' to the.".Dfrfiitdr .of tho; i\ew South'. i-Wnloir .-State VTrawling Industry, Mi , . Stead explained that Lybuck 5 invention, in its earlier .form, had been placed before We- Boiton-'S fishery.people several ,years .ago. "It k AxvxA." fift.id Mr. Stead, '"'on ttie"''wel]tkno.wn...fact that a stronp ray •f light, on'.tho-watei- frequently Jtifaetli the. , smaller-: fishes; so-'that they n\'ny-. lie -ciiptured-' Svftii scoop-iiets.. 'Ihie method.' oj"- fishifts 'i?; ,'practised, -in,;' tho ■Jlediteliran'eiui in a'sniall- way . m;,.-tlie cnptuiVW-sardines, nnd along our. own coast in the catching of prawns. It is na'tiirlil 'to a'ssiiuio-tlwit success might attend this:.method if practised .011 a lafg'o- scale,'.but" cKperienee.. gamed -dur'.ine tftp «-ar, rt-liell.thoijsandP'Of searchlights :, liiiv'b'. fe'en' 'fbcused'' Upon' ■ broad ■sirotojiqe of water. ift'.w.Mcb Wg shbiiw of-h'Rh.werp-ljnowii'.to lie'-p-rescnt,' does*not ■justify- 'the .coiislus{en-.tliiit : . the .shoals were "attracted by .the. beam?, of ..light. 'As' i! •matter'-of fact, -many .fish,.'lnimeertStcijv Iseattdr from • the 'light. ' Only soiW ire dAnxled;. a.ncl.'.swi.rn -hither nnd thither within the. scope of the rays. Somo years aijo an experiment, was tried -'onthe'JJciv South •'Wales'-coast. by.snikirijr ■ a : -drodgo in' which 'an electric :llKht bulb W placed. A ' few- :fish, _,were n.-in'»ht'lnit'not Vufficient-to justify the iileii:'llint tlmt.iraethod of' fishing; would fbß'Siiceossful.'.-ii;'. - - ;,.'• ;,,'.,-'.'',, The study'of the '.use oP )ipHt in the cap'tuwof" fish-'is;.-Mr: .Slend .finds, a "verv'fnsclnatintone, ■ .-It is quite, possible ho thii.ikls;'-Hint'inimerous rays of KRiit'-niigllit'' be-praiccteniiii' 'such a way as rather 't'o-'sicnrp-.tlie'.hsh-into a circle nwayfrom,,the rtuvs,..so.'.tjii^,-tlioy might by means.-of: a.,pul-scsouie, the most oft'ectire -sunface- net .tin -Hie. world. ' lt v -is 'part of ! Cnplain 'Lybeck'n scheme thiit -Kis., glii'nf '.fehermiin.- - phftuld > be cfecteA fishes by -rt scouting hydroplana;- Ouc? in., the vicinity of a school i. the' fish, attracted by seurehlitfhts-. covering a .strip of wiiter two miles' wide foe ■ ten miles ah'wV-iwo'hlfl ,bb- Gobbled' up :m multitudes •!«.'-'the,': Rroat' Vstoop;' : , 150 feet widßj.-iuid 75- fci<t '}li?ep,nwh-)ch ;,de.pends ' from -this front--of :tho .boat, -l-he' statistics of »,tnp• 'invention -n-re . interesting. '"by Hjalt'iii" , 10 : hiil.te tth libnr." "explains , Gnnia'iii 'Lrbocfe, "j<i frhveV.RßP fteti each minute, nucl'jf thb"light can only be seen from a depth of lflfl feet, even -.(lion we 'Ufiiiir -over." !)L'a,ftilO,fl(W .-cubic . feel -a tlliiilire.' Siippo?ins : there-Av.er.e only six •poumW o'f fish ; to the- iiveWige 1.000,000 .Riibicj fcot.pf wa'tei , ,-n'n'rt fi only : caught -■•halfiof fjiein. ;cveii'..th.en ,fre would oatch •1 i',«72,0(10. poiindii-i'-in'-.a ilOrhijiii , night s work. As we fihoiilcl always be working iii'waters-where fish arc,-men of wido expbrieiice; agree.'thai.' 10D- pounds of fish to ...tivcY.v : ' 1,000,000 'Aiibic feet'of puch ..iv/iteivi w6|il(l M too. loiv nn' cstimati , . S'tippQsini; -we ciiiight.'.ohly halt, of them, we tfould.-in Ifl hours, by (ravelling 100 miles, catch 27,870,000 pounds.

. ■'■:■.:.■ :■■■<■ - Aerial Scouts,,... ■■:. . •-'liiie'..idea of'..using, a .hydroplane or aeroplane, to'locate- shoulel of. fish is. one that "commends--it-self,-grpaH-y to Mr. Stead. Tho aeroplane ■ will.- ho anticipates,, become a very ■ valuable adjunct to'sur'fiicß foiling operation^'.'At present p?Meryatiqiiß ; .hnve 'to bo'inijde.from n cliffor .masthead, "and in changing weather conditions it. is .-very'.difficult to distinguish lillonhvof fish if they be submergedmpre.th(jn α-fatjhom. ' An'iieroplane ol>s'prve.r, ■ Jipwever, from' a. few hundred 'feet u'p,"would.be'a.bic i 'to" penetrate depths whero large shoals might be concealed. In certain waters (h<? aeroplane will even , help in trawl fishing, though that would not apply on our coast, Mr. Stcnd .explains, for the reason that our waters,, 'cbiifaining . large .numbers 'of., organisms,' !hrc .not.:So.'.(rAn.sjarent''as; ! !« : aters to befouncl elsewhere.'

A French' , ' avintor,''-'who visited Sydney, a year ..or two,.ago, told Mr. Stead that from-a;height;of 1000'fecit,-he could tinguish no water in Botany Bay, the bottom being easily seen at all times. .