ANIMAL LIFE OF THE DEEP SEA BOTTOM 



157 



Putting out the large otter-trawl. The arms are still on the surface. 



inlets and rivers and streams. Other animals prey on the palatable little 

 fish all the time, making inroads into the stock. Enemies continue to prey 

 on them throughout the whole period of their growth, man not least, when 

 they hav^e reached the size for fishing. Yet enough of them become sex- 

 ually mature and are allowed to breed in such numbers that the stock is 

 never in danger of dying out. 



It is exactly the same with our deep-sea eel, Synaphobranchus. During 

 the months when the elvers are migrating to the deep-sea bottom they 

 must come falling into the greedy mouths of the ocean in myriads, like 

 manna from heaven, filled with the radiant energy of the sun in the form 

 of body tissues which contain all the supply of fats, proteins, and vitamins 

 which, according to our experience on the Galathea, is more vital than 

 anything else to the deep-sea fauna, its composition and volume. 



After this brief survey of the envdronment we will take a look at the 

 animals themselves. 



It is always exciting to haul in a fishing implement. The fisherman for 

 whom fishing is a means of existence knows this as well as the amateur 



