ELECTRIC RAY FISH
Sir,—lt was surely a unique and unpleasant experience for the Waimairi fisherman, mentioned in your news item on Saturday, to get an electric shock from a fish hooked on his set line. A. W. B. Powell in his book “Native Animals of New Zealand” notes that the Maoris called this fish Whai repo, and that its scientific name is Narcobatus fairchildi. He recalls an instance at Maraetai some years ago, when one of these fish administered a distinct shock which was transmitted up the line to a fisherman’s hands, the circuit being completed from the fact that the man’s feet were immersed in the bilge water of a small boat. That the Maoris knew all about this fish and had a name for it is further proof, if any were needed, of their extraordinarily wide and deep knowledge of nature. —Yours, etc. RAY.
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Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28169, 7 January 1957, Page 2
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146ELECTRIC RAY FISH Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28169, 7 January 1957, Page 2
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