but because of the lack of asaistance I waa unable to make fully detailed ob= 

 earvatlons. As for chemical investigations of the poison, these could not be 

 done in the field and nat^jralDy changes took place in the materials. This 

 was the most difficult p>oint in the investigation. 



I wish to express my thanks to Governor-General Hayashi for the oppor- 

 tunity to make this study, and to Mr. Pushida, Chief of the Saipan Branch, and 

 Administrative Officer Kurushlma for the facilities which they placed at my 

 disposal. Sincere thanks are olso due to Technician Yamanaka, Chief of the 

 Productive Industries Section, for taking time from his many duties to give mo 

 guidance and assistance. I wish also to thank Technician Warukawa of the 

 Fisheries Experiment Station of the Wlirdalry of Agriculture and Forestry and 

 Dr. Jfakiya, former Chief of the Korean Governnsnt-Ceneral Fisheries ExperlTient 

 Station, for their valuable advice and assistance in locating the literature 

 on the subject, and Mr. Miyaka?7a, head of the Contagious Disease Research In- 

 stitute, and Dr. Toj-Bma, head of the Immunology Section, for their kind con- 

 sideration, as well as Dr. Hosotani for his advica on the poison experiments. 



1, Fisherrnen's Reports 



In beginning the investigation I thought that it would be a good idea to 

 get the opinions of the fishermen, trtio are in direct and intimate touch with 

 the problem, and then to use the information gained firom them ns a basis for 

 my studies. Throu^ the good offices of Technician Yamanaka I was able to 

 talk with fishermen, ask them various questions, and obtain material for my 

 study. The following are their replies to tuy inquiries: 



(1) Kinds of poisonous fish 



akamasu (resembles the sea-bream), omachi . ohiraa.U f Caranx sp.j 

 unagi ( utsubo ) [moray eel], okamasu (^barracuda], omebarit 

 kuchiku (resembles a black monacanthid) , balloonfish 



The moray eel is very dangerous and from time to time people die of eat- 

 ing it. There -flere also said to be other dangerous speciea the natrea of which 

 were not known. 



(2) Habitats of poisonous fish 



In general fish which live outside the reefs are d&n<;erous. In the cass 

 of the kuchiku. those taken in the vicinity of the government pier and south 

 toward Charankanoa are dangerous, but those taken near the breakwater are 

 safe to eat, it was reported. At Tinian also the fish from outside the reef 

 are dangerous, it was said. 



(3) Distinctions based on form and coloration 



It is difficult to distinguish poisonous fishes by their form and colora- 

 tion, but they ar« generally large. It is said that even in a poisonous 

 species the small specimens may be nonpoisonouSo 



(a) Relationship of toxicity to food 



It is said that the fish become poisonous throng eating crabs, and some 



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