Giant Rays.

Fiji Fishermen's Experiences.

Letter to the Editor.

A FEW years ago when working for a well-known trader in the Yasawa Group, Mr. Arthur Robinson, we had the following experience off the island of Naviti.

We put out a turtle net measuring 150 yards by 50 yards off the shore, right in front of the store. A five-gallon oil drum was placed in the centre and 20 odd kerosene tins at intervals along the top of the net to keep it afloat. Early next morning, I looked out and was surprised to see only the oil drum floating. Going into the dwelling house I awoke Mr. Rob inson and together we went out in a dinghy to investigate.

Nary a turtle was there, but no less than nine “saga sagenas” (manta rays) were entangled in the net. As it was impossible to disentangle them out there, we cut the net into nine pieces, and tow ed each piece ashore—a full day’s work, with labour. The biggest “saga” meas ured 20 ft. across from tip to tip of the wing. Mr. Robinson took a photograph of the writer sitting in its mouth, but, unfortunately, this snap has been mislaid.

These rays appear to be harmless, hav ing a fairly wide mouth with no teeth and a short flipper on either side of the head. As each one was freed from the meshes of the net, it was great fun to * watch, the natives taking a ride on its back as it made straight out to sea and freedom again. This episode cost Mr.

Robinson the value of the net, some £4B odd.

Another experience befell us at the same place—one which I am sure neither

he nor I would care to have happen again.

Being inveterate fishermen, we decid ed to go out one dark night, in a little eight-foot dinghy. Anchoring where we had met with varying success on previ ous occasions, we fished for half an hour or so, with a few to our credit. Then suddenly there was a jerk, and the dinghy started to move out to sea at a fair rate. We each thought that th,e other had hooked a “big ’un”, but when we discovered that such was not the case, it was time for quick thinking.

Our thoughts naturally turned to severing the anchor line but, unfortunately, we had a chain fastened to the anchor in stead of a rope; therefore severing it with a knife was out of the question.

Then, just as suddenly as it started to move, the dinghy stopped and we were free. We must have broken all existing records in the half mile pull back to the shore. The only explanation we could think of, for being so suddenly towed out to sea, was that a manta ray, swimming leisurely along the bottom, had got the fluke of our anchor caught on one of its wings, or possibly in its mouth.

Feeling the sudden jerk, it had made all haste out to sea, with us in tow.

Mr. Robinson never talks much about tips episode, the reason being that peo ple think he “stretches” this yarn. How ever, I was the other occupant of the dinghy and can vouch for it.

Has any other reader of the “P.1.M.” had a similar experience with these deni zens of the deep?

I am, etc.,

Tui Yasawa-I-Lau.

Yasawas, Fiji. 16/1/1938.

The famous Finnish barque “Pamir” will not take part in this year’s grain race—she will load manganese ore at Noumea, New Caledonia, for Europe.