6o 



to see how far this (at least to me) extraordinary theory penetrated. 

 It even made scientists ignore facts. For example, it had been 

 reported in the press all over the world that the first Coelacanth 

 was taken by a trawler near East London at a depth of 40 fathoms 

 (80 yards). This was clearly stated both in my monograph and in 

 many other publications. In addition, it is well known that in 

 South African waters trawlers have long operated at depths up 

 to and even exceeding 300 fathoms. Yet a leading overseas 

 scientific treatise published not long after the discovery, in dis- 

 cussing the Coelacanth, stated that the fish had been taken by 

 *A South African trawler dredging deeper than usual'. Then 

 again, only a few years ago, a costly deep-sea expedition worked 

 over the great ocean deeps of the world hoping to catch a Coe- 

 lacanth there. 



This idea that the Coelacanth might live in the depths has 

 always seemed inexplicable to me, for when I looked at that fish, 

 even the first time, it said as plainly as if it could speak : 'Look at 

 my hard, armoured scales. They overlap so that there is a three- 

 fold thick layer of them over my whole body. Look at my bony 

 head and stout spiny fins. I am so well protected that no rock can 

 hurt me. Of course I live in rocky areas, among reefs, below the 

 action of the waves and surf, and, believe me, I am a tough guy 

 and not afraid of anything in the sea. No soft deep-sea ooze for 

 me. My blue colour alone surely tells you that I cannot live in the 

 depths. You don't find blue fishes there. I cannot swim at speed 

 for more than a short distance ; I don't need to, because by lever- 

 ing myself from convenient concealment among rocks or from a 

 crevice, I can pounce so swiftly on any creature passing by that it 

 hasn't a hope. When I spot any quarry that stays quiet, I don't 

 need to give myself away by swimming. I can stalk it by crawling 

 quietly along gullies and channels, pressing close against the rocks 

 for added concealment. Look at these teeth and enormous jaw 

 muscles. Once they clamp tight on anything, believe me it can't 

 get away. Even big fishes have no hope. I just hang on until they 

 die, and then feed at leisure, as my kind has done for millions of 

 years.' All this and more the shape and form of the Coelacanth 

 presented to my eye with its experience of living fishes. 



Even though we have a far from complete knowledge of the 

 life in the great depths of the ocean, a good many fishes from there 



