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the pattern of the A.C.M.E. expedition talks of six years before. 

 Once again I was apparently alone in my Coelacanth single- 

 mindedness, and to me they all appeared less interested in catch- 

 ing Coelacanths than in seeing how much else they could hang on 

 to it. I listened to a commendably elaborate scheme for carrying 

 out oceanographical investigations covering an enormous range 

 of scientific effort. Most of the first day I listened, and it certainly 

 was an impressive project, but to me pure phantasy and of little 

 value as a Coelacanth-hunting venture. Next day I had my turn 

 and talked a good deal, casting doubts on the feasibility of so ex- 

 tensive and costly a scheme and on any possibility of raising the 

 relatively large sum such a project must cost. We had a battle 

 about estimates and got to a compromise figure, and even that 

 was far outside my ideas of practical finance. Though South 

 Africa might be prepared to assist towards hunting Coelacanths 

 I could not see our country financing extensive oceanographical work 

 in seas so far away. I told them it seemed impractical to visualise 

 such a scheme when we now knew at least one place where Coela- 

 canths lived. I wanted to concentrate first on the Comores alone. 

 I wanted to see Coelacanths caught for science, and outlined the 

 simple, direct, and relatively inexpensive scheme I had in mind. 

 However, I was assured that the Scientific Council had expressly 

 directed that this expedition should have the oceanographical 

 character that was now outlined, and that the Council did not want 

 any other. They did not share my doubts as to whether the 

 necessary funds would be forthcoming. 



Certainly of all the accessible parts of the oceans near populous 

 countries, the region of the Mozambique channel is probably the 

 least known scientifically. Oceanographical investigations there 

 are highly desirable and would probably pay handsome dividends. 

 But my common sense told me that if the French caught more and 

 more Coelacanths in their closely preserved waters, no foreign 

 Government was going to spend large sums of money on an 

 expedition to find Coelacanths. I had no faith in this international 

 project purely as far as hunting Coelacanths was concerned.* If 



• It has recently (June 1955) been announced that the International Expedi- 

 tion to hunt Coelacanths has been postponed, but that Dr. Millot is going on an 

 expedition of his own, equipped with special cages to keep Coelacanths in 

 deep water, and with a type of bathysphere designed by French experts so 

 that he may go down and study live Coelacanths in their natural home. 



