SLAUGHTER IN THE TROPIC SEAS.

Hokitika Guardian, 26 May 1925, Page 4

SLAUGHTER IN THE TROPIC SEAS.

| ! i'XX IXO (>E I- IS! | T<) ( A PTl'l! E PREY. i siiai! l-: tiiat world twikt THE K STEEL. I 1.0 11 do It " Daily M ail." ) 111 the following Pa jial el les Mr Mitchell 1 Hedges. 1 lie explorer, describes Die • l.itighter that, lakes place in the capj tare of prey by li b ill Die tropic seas i and further adventures while fishing < for shark. Mr Mil. hell Hedges Dr Thomas (bum. and others have visited Dritish llonj aml to iin est ign te Ihe remains of Die | ancient Maya’ civilisation, j lly E. A. MITCiIELL-iIEDDES. | Xoktii-East Cay. I’.nti-I, Honduras. Xolhing on land can approach the j perpetual slaughter and ruthless crilel- . ty that i xist in Da- Iropie -e;is and the running employed by I lie liiiiiiim-rahle denizens of lie- deep in (he cnntuiv of their pn-.v. Every morning one can set- thousands of tiny lisli Hying for their lives, and rising in showers, shining like molten silver in the sun’s lavs. Heavy hursts | of water show plainly they are bring consumed greedily by skipper-jack. Spanish niaekeiTil. and others. These in turn leap madly from the sea as savage harraeouda, with razor-like teeth, dash in among Dieiu. A sinister triangular liu some distaine off . ut.s the surface. A tremendous swirl of water follows. I i.ii. De- an liu-ecs a live-toot bnrraruiida. Erant i- a !!v il struggles to escape Us inevitable fate -in vain. The jaws of a folirteen-liiot shark, the Tiger of Ihe Deep, has closed on it. Eisll belli great and small, dash across the surface in every direction, until only the dorsal tin of the shark can he seen leisurely travelling bail-wards and forwards.

Ysttally shark swallow their prey whole. I hate in my possession a tortoiseshell turtle-back which I teok from the interior of a -hark. It does mu exhibit a .-.ingle scratch. The turtle weighed prohahly 2;)M>; and I once removed a 7lilb snapper unite period. SPEED OK PORPOISES We have watched a nurse-shark deliberately ttiiii a big’ conk-shell oil it' back tlem wait, motionless; and as the creature struggled as far as possible from its shell to regain its natural position, like lightning seize and tear out the exposed mollusc. Porpoises owing to their immense speed ' 1 estimate they can travel at more than sixty miles an hour), capture the swiftest living fish. They also feed on the unhappy conks. PARROT-FISH. The many brilliantly coloured parrotfish. weighing from two pounds to fifty, are >n called becau-e they have beaks much like a parrot’s, and enormously powerful, while that flat iisli. the ray, settles down on the sand, then works with its strong flukes until it has dug a hole exposing clams which it seizes. A most extraordinary creature is the hog lisli. Nature has given it a long snout and tusk-like teeth. It actually roots, like a hog, in the ground and

seagrass of the ocean after small crabs. Jiut perhaps tlie most remarkable sight of ail is to sec lioiv life in tlie sea can change colour and simulate surrounding objects as all aid to making itself invisible when stalking. I watched a Mack snapper the other day, weighin'; about .jib. Slowly it swam where the mangrove roots overhung the sea, then stopped motionless and completely changed colour.

SHARK I'd SHI NT!. So persistent were the rumours of 'ho number and size .! sharks that i determined to investigate. Leaving! Water Cay. we travelled approximately twenty miles under the lee of the reef, and dropped anchor. There is a tiny break in the coral reef—the depth ol water is not more than two feel, ’therefore only a little boat like our dinghy can pass through into the main ocean beyond, where a heavy swell always runs. Two hours elapsed, and no sign of a shark did we see. I decided to return, when ten. twenty, thirty huge, ghostly, greenish-grey shapes rose from nowhere. Not one shark was under fifteen feet: in length. They swarmed round the little boat. We flung one of our ii.h overboard, well away from trio dinghy. Like a pack of wolves they descended upon it. In a second it had disappeared. .Mechanically I had allowed the baited shark-hook to drop over. It could have been no more than a few feet beneath the surface when suddenly the line was pulled with irresistible force; The side of the dinghy filled and the sea poured in. Frantically we shifted the line to the how. The boat went alft'ud. t!i <-11 gradually began to dip. Our boat was being pulled under. Again the water poured over. Hut providentially the hook had not. been driven into the iish. Only the bait had been seized.

Wo pulled hard for the break in the reel’: but thov followed us. We jabbed at them with the harpoon—with no effect. Finally we reached the opening and were safe. ST Kit I. HARPOON TWIST K.D.

Anchored the other side of the reef in shallow water that night, we baited two shark lines with the grouper we had brought back. With a rush, one of the lines whistled through the elect, coming up with a jerk on the stern capstan. We all attempted to haul in, but the line was tail! us a steel hawser. Madly tlie lisli dashed across the surface. liinging waves and showers of spray in every direct ion. Its rage was terrible. A- it shot past close to the yacht, with great dexterity Levi drove down the heavy harpoon. This was

ley. and tl.e steel harpoon, with oic llauge torn comnb'tcly off and the three- igdit s inch steel bent into all arc, wa.- Hung in llie air. The bool; at tlie same time was icon clear.

It i- i mpossib'e to I Oil ice 1 ure Iti" ■ iz.e of this lish. lam sending the hnr- !!■ ..!! . p KnghocL The strength of the ■ routine that, can lwi>t a throe-eights i:■ ■ !i sled harpeon like pin-wire is best iei c to the imagine I ion.