Swarms Of Japanese Poachers

Harassing Coasts of Australia, New Guinea, Solomons, New Caledonia, and Fiji

the newspapers of Australia and N.Z. have been giving comparatively little attention to the Japanese trochus-shell poachers, the pest has been growing worse; and to-day it is now so extensive that actually it demands serious attention from the countries mainly interested —namely, Australia, France, Great Britain, and Japan.

DURING the last few weeks the follow ing incidents have been reported: Boats from a sampan-poacher landed on an island off the coast of New Ireland (Mandated Territory of New Guinea), and the Japanese used firearms upon the na tives when the latter approached them.

A sampan-poacher was caught by the British authorities in the Solomon Islands, and taken to Tulagi.

Another sampan-poacher was arrested by the French off the coast of New Cale donia (making three altogether), and taken to Noumea. Three other poaching vessels were sighted.

A sampan poacher was overtaken by the British while ashore on the northern coast of Vanua Levu, Fiji, and was detained; but the crew slashed the ropes, and the vessel escaped.

There have been further reports of activ ities of Japanese sampans off the coast of North Australia.

A glance at the map will show that this plague of Japanese poachers extends over a very wide section of the Pacific Ocean — namely, from the Dutch East Indies to the region east of Fiji—and so many have been reported that it seems certain there are hundreds of these craft at work, de

stroying the trochus beds on the reefs within British and French territorial waters.

It is bad enough that the valuable shell should be removed in this way; but a far worse thing is the fact that the poachers are carrying off and destroying the im mature shell, and are thus threatening to put an end to an industry that is of im mense value to the British and French territories in the Central and Western Pacific.

The British authorities have been pa tiently protesting against these depreda tions for some three or four years; but, being apparently anxious not to cause any unfortunate “incident,” they really have done nothing to punish severely and so scare off the poachers.

But a new factor has now entered the situation —namely, French resentment at the sudden appearance of considerable numbers of sampans in the territorial waters of New Caledonia. The French are displaying a good deal of bad temper and, if Japan does not take some action to suppress this poaching nuisance, it seems inevitable that, sooner or later, some of these sampans will be dealt with by the French or the British in such a way that international complications will ensue.

The British and French authorities should take an early opportunity of mak ing a very strong request to Tokio to suppress this very serious and growing nuisance of trochus poaching.