Fishing by the Electric Light.

Evening Star, Issue 7787, 7 December 1888, Page 4

Fishing by the Electric Light.

Fishermen are now beginning to equip themselves with electric lights, in order to pursue their calling at night, a succession of trials off the Welsh coast having shown its extreme usefulness for this purpose. Recently a number of experts went out to sea to witness the remarkable influence of light on fishes. In the first instance two nets were let down to the depth of three fathoms, one furnished with an Edison-Swan glow lamp and the other in the ordinary condition. The firßt, when raised, was found full of fish ; but the second was empty. A depth of six fathoms was next tried, with the same repult—the lighted net being full, and the unlighted one empty. Next both nets were illuminated, and both came up well filled from a depth of four fathoms. Then the nets •were put down four fathoms without lights, and allowed to remain as long as the illuminated ones had, but when they were drawn they were empty. In a fifth experiment, both nets were furnished with lamps, but one was sunk to a depth of five fathoms, while the other was kept on the surface. Both contained a large quantity of fish, but those from the five fathoms net were of a different description to those obtained from the surface. The great success of these and other trials has induced many of the fishermen on the Welsh and south-west coast to employ the glow-lamp regularly in night fishing, it being easy, by means of accumulators, to obtain the necessary light when at sea.