Fishing By

Electricity

Remarkable New Method of Food-gathering

Experiments carried out in recent years—notably, by Pro fessor Konradin Kreutzer, of Friburg University, German y— promise a complete revolution in fishing methods within the next few years. Some of the implications of this system seem likely to be of interest to the Islands.

At the present time, for example, a Dutch expert on fishing methods of the older type is teaching the Tongans fishing, to aid that country in supplementing its food require ments. The demand for supplies of fish in other Groups is even more pressing. Though fish are plentiful the people have either lost the old arts of catching them or, for some reason, they cannot be readily caught.

Kreutzer, and some Russian ex perimenters, have discovered that if a pair of conductors are lowered into the water, and a direct current applied between them, fish in the area between the conductors will invariably head towards the positive one. Then, if the current is in terrupted and applied in impulses, each impulse causes the fish to give an involuntary twitch, which kicks it in the direction in which it is heading.

Thus, for example, the positive conductor might be placed at the inner end of a big net, and the negative conductor might consist of a long bare wire somewhere out in front of and across the entrance to the net. Any fish then coming between this latter wire and the net itself can be forced into the net by electricity.

In the same way, a fish “fence” can be erected which can be just as effective as the coral fence used in fish traps in the Islands. Such coral fences have been largely re sponsible for the silting up of the Ngatangiia harbour, Rarotonga.

Under the new system a single wire, which would not affect the flow of water at all, might be just as effective.

However, the matter is not quite as simple as it appears at first sight.

The greater the distance between the two conductors, the higher the voltage required to force a suf ficiently large current through the water. This involves heavier gen

erating equipment.

But experiments have already shown conclusively that there are spme cheap and immediate applica tions. By the above system, the ash are not actually killed or stunned at all. But by another nethod, in which the current is fed ;o a fish-hook and to another elec trode a foot or two further up the

fishing line, a fish which normally puts up a big fight can be tem porarily stunned, and easily hauled in by the use of only a few volts.

The “fence” method, however, is by far the most interesting insofar as the Islands are concerned. It has now been found that, by vary ing the voltage and the number of impulses per minute, a choice can be made between the sizes, and even between the varieties, of fish.

Correctly adjusted, unwanted fish will pass through the “fence” un affected, and the sizes required will be held for the waiting spearmen or hand-netters.

Already some equipment for this type of fishing is on sale commerci ally; and the possibilities are being discussed in fisheries’ publications all over the world. (Over)

Unwisely used, the method could be more destructive of fish re sources than the use of explosives (already outlawed), but used wisely, and under control, the new elec trical method could become an im portant factor in providing fish on a large scale for some Islands com munities. More is certain to be heard of the Kreutzer method be fore long.

U Mr. John Perry arrived at Port Moresby at the end of September to take over as acting senior geologist with the Department of Lands while Senior Geologist, Mr.

J. Thompson, takes leave in Aus tralia. fl The Colonial Secretary, Mr. A, F.

R. Stoddart, returned recently to Fiji after furlough overseas.

This street view, showing the western end of Victoria Parade, indicates how Sava, chief town of Fiji, is growing. The Triangle Garden can be seen in the distance. The new South Seas Hotel occupies the space between the right-hand building in this picture, and the “Fiji Times” office.