BATTLE BETWEEN FISH

Manawatu Times, Volume LIII, Issue 6735, 11 October 1928, Page 5

BATTLE BETWEEN FISH

FIGHT TO THE DEATH. - SUNFISH AND SHARK. SLA'A, Sept. 27. About a fortnight ago ,a; fisherman, Mr A. Smoothcy, was fishing' 1 in the vicinity of Sandbank Passage, on the way to Nukulau, when ho saw a mighty battle taking place between a huge shark and what he believes to have been a giant sunfish, wJueu, he declares, must have weighed more than a ton. Mr Smoothcy was by himself at the time, some distance away from the passage, when he sav the water being violently disturbed. He made for tnc spot and found that the water for an area 100 yards square was red with blood while in the centre a battle to the death was going on between a giant thresher shark and a big fish. Occasionally the fish came above the surface, showing only a portion of its great black back. Its dark, coarse skin appeared' to be. that of a sunfish.

The shark, iu its effort to MU its prey, rose right out of tlife water, showing' half of its 20 or more feet of length, and then threshed dbwn on the back of the fish, cutting out junks of it with his side fins and sending spurts of blood and water high into the air.

It was a thrilling sight, and the battle lasted fully a-quarter of an hour. -Mr Smoothcy says he felt inclined to draw in and capture one of the contestants, but ho could not manage a fish of such a- size and handle his launch at the same time. .

At last victory went to the shark, and “the big fish sank to the bottom. The shark disappeared immediately, presumably going to the bottom to enjoy its well-earned feast. Several such battles inside the reef near Suva have been reported recently.' At present the harbour is alive with fish of all sizes.