Poachers and ’Planes in Torres Strait
p. 51 · Read in the full issue
Torres Strait
REPORTS from Thursday Island indi cate that Japanese shell poachers are at work again on the Torres Strait reefs.
On September 2, two coast pilots, Messrs. Elliott and Rule, while on the tanker Solen en route to Borneo saw a Japanese sampan near Turtle Island, 60 miles from Thursday Island. The craft was making for a reef four miles to the east of Turtle Island.
The steamer Ampullaria sent a radio message to T.I. on September 6, stating that when she was passing Haggerston Is. (near Cape Grenville), a foreign sam pan was seen lying at anchor with her mast down.
A third report was received from the ketch This Land the following day that she had sighted a Japanese fishing vessel, which was of about 40 tons, was painted black and had eight boats out at work near Cairncross Reef. The master of the This Land also reported having sighted two ’planes in the vicinity.
Fishermen on board the Alee confirmed the report concerning the two mystery aeroplanes when they arrived at Thursday Island. They stated that they saw the ’planes flying at an altitude of about 500 feet in the direction of Milman Island.