Operations This Year

25 Jap Luggers For Mop

THE Australian Government has conditionally licensed” 25 Japanese pearling luggers to operate in North Australian waters season —April to November The conditions are that the Japs g™ a P unequivocal undertaking to obey Australia s pearl-fishing laws wiif l afe bet *f at Ja P Pearlers their unequivocal s““*. thlS year ’ any more than they have on any other oc casion and that the season will be fw? 6 ? by the usual complaints from Australian pearlers A the , meantime, it is reported that Australian master-pearlers are having difficulty in filling their lugger crews—many of the Torres Strait Islanders, who are the only divers now available to them al ready having engaged on trochus fishing which began at end of January. Fishing for trochus seems to be a better proposition so far as the Islanders are concerned—they have not got to dive so deep, for one thing.

Japs Arm To Protect

Fishing Boats

It was reported from Japan at the end of February that they will arm eight 500-tons ships in March (Sin. guns and 40 mm cannon) in order to protect their fishing fleets.

A reader, commenting on this de velopment, asks: “Are they going to shoot? And if so, at whom, at what, and where?”

He wonders if they will be visit ing Australian or Islands waters and what the reaction of RAN vessels will be—recalling the famous oc casion up North, years ago and be fore the war, when a Navy ship— the Larrakia we think it was— went to apprehend a Jap shell poaching vessel, broke down, and had to be towed ignominiously back to port by the “apprehended.”

It appears that, one way or an other, we are in for interesting times again in the waters north of Australia.