CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE 



NEED FOR PROTECTION OF CREATURES THAT LIVE IN 

 THE WATER 



Perhaps you think it is absurd to talk about caring for 

 the creatures that live in the water, since they can so easily 

 hide away in its depths where we cannot follow. Perhaps 

 you think that because the ocean is so great it would be im- 

 possible ever to catch all the fish that live in it. It is easy 

 to understand how all the fish might be caught out of the 

 creeks, rivers, and shallow lakes, since fish are hungry and 

 we put before them such attractive bait ; but with the 

 ocean it seems different. It stretches so many thousands 

 of miles and is so very deep that there does not appear to 

 be any danger of exterminating the animals of the ocean 

 as we have some of those of the land. 



Is it true, however, that all the vast waters of the ocean 

 are full of fish, or are they found only in certain parts? 

 The fishermen can tell us about this matter. They know 

 where to set the hooks and nets, and where they are most 

 likely to get a good catch. They do not go far out where 

 the water is deep but seek, instead, the shallow waters near 

 the shore or about the reefs and islands. They know that 

 the deep water of the ocean contains very few fish and none 

 that are of any value as food. 



Each kind of fish has become adapted to certain parts of 

 the ocean, for both the food supply and the pressure of the 

 water differ with different depths. Fish caught in deep 

 water are often dead before reaching the surface, because 

 of the decrease in the water pressure. 



One reason why fish are not numerous far out in the ocean 



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