AVALON, THE BEAUTIFUL 



over the ocean, chasing every white splash, and they 

 make an angler's pleasure taste bitter. 



Fortunately the Japs had let the tuna alone, for 

 the simple and good reason that they had not found 

 a way to catch the wise blue-fins. But they will find 

 a way ! Yet they drove the schools down, and that 

 was almost as bad. As far as swordfish axe concerned, 

 it is easy to see what will happen, now that the alba- 

 core have become scarce. Broadbill swordfish are the 

 finest food fish in the sea. They can be easily har- 

 pooned by these skilful Japs. And so eventually they 

 will be killed and driven away. This misfortune may 

 not come at once, but it will come. 



In this connection it is interesting to note that I 

 tried to photograph one of the Austrian crews in 

 action. But Captain Dan would not let me get 

 near enough to take a picture. There is bad blood 

 between Avalon boatmen and these foreign market 

 fishermen. Shots had been exchanged more than 

 once. Captain Dan kept a rifle on board. This 

 news sort of stirred me. And I said: "Run close to 

 that bunch, Cap. Maybe they'll take a peg at me!" 

 But he refused to comply, and I lost a chance to 

 serve my country! 



The Japs, however, are square fishermen, mostly, 

 and I rather admire those albacore-chasers, who at 

 least give the fish a chance. Some of them use nets, 

 and against them and the Austrian round-haul 

 netters I am exceedingly bitter. These round-haul 

 nets, some of them, must be a mile long, and they 

 sink two hundred feet in the water. What chance 

 has a school of fish against that? They surround 

 a school and there is no escape. 



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