NORWEGIAN WHALERS.

Western Star, 2 October 1936, Page 2

NORWEGIAN WHALERS.

WELLLINGTON, October 1. The Norwegian whalers, who arrived in Wellington on Wednesday, found a rich harvest in the region of the noithwest coast of Australia during their voyage from Africa, They were kept hard at work for more than two months. Two chasers between them killed some 700 whales, the total catch being nearly 1600. It was .not necessary ior the Anglo-Norse to proceed to port to get rid of her cargo. The owners were wirelessed and an oil tanker was chartered and sent to the mother ship. The tanker met the fleet at sea and after supplying a quantity of fuel oil pumped the factory ship dry of 60,000 barrels of whale oil. The fleet has been at sea for more than five months almost continuously. It is expected that the whalers will remain m Wellington for ten or twelve days. It has not been decided yet whether the ships will proceed to the Ross Sea grounds or try their fortune off the coast of Peru.

SHELTER FROM AERIAL ATTACK. BRITONS WARNED TO TAKE OWN PRECAUTIONS. LONDON, September 30. The Government is sending out to every householder a book on the dan gers of air raids and gas, with the suggestion that their own refuge in then; own homes be provided. I actories a; shops are advised to make a similar provision. “The public shelters are only for those caught in the streets,’’ an official stated. “There is no intention to have public bomb-proof shelters which require a concrete roof 10ft- thick or, alternatively, to be buil 75ft underground.”

HAWAII PEARL FARM.

<£> UNCLE SAM’S OYSTERS. Uncle Sam’s pearl oysters are gone—stolen from the bottom of Kanoehe Bay. They were planted there six years ago; they grew, but most of them have disappeared. The story goes back to the summer oi 1930 when Dr Paul S. Galtsoff, of the United States Bureau of Fisheries, led a pearl-oyster hunting expedition to the Pacific. The Hawaiian Government had reported to Washington that a native fishing company had taken £20,000 worth of pearls from unchartered waters near Honolulu. They wanted to know whether the oyster beds belonged to Hawaii. A United States Navy ship, equipped for underwater exploration, set out for the islands. At Honolulu the expedition learned that a native diver . who had promised to reveal the location of the beds had vanished. Only one thing was known—that the deposits were somewhere near Pearl and Hermes Reef, which is 1300 miles away. The ship pointed seaward. At the reef systematic exploration was organised. Divers dropped over the side while the vessel cruised about; samples of sea water and sea bottom were taken; strange fish were killed. Then one day a diver struck pearl. The scientific personnel went into action. They donned steel under-water helmets and walked among the oyster beds. They brought up pearl oysters as big as platters —12 inches long by 8 wide—that contained valuable mother of pearl, blister pearls and pearls of perfect symmetry and rare beauty. But even if the beds were in territorial waters, how could they be protected from poachers ? Dr Galtsoff decided that the practical solution was to transplant specimen oysters near Honolulu. Research levealed apparently ideal conditions m Kanoehe Bay. The baby oysters were planted, the Hawaiians were taught oyster culture, and the American scientists returned home. Periodically Hawaiian officials inspected the bed. But other eyes also were watching human eyes in the heads of slender dark bodies that slid to the sea bottom when the officials went away. Ihe oysters began to disappear, ami now most ol them are gone. Uncle Sam. has lost his pearls, but Dr Galtsoff considers the experiment a success. It has been shown, he says, that pearl oysters can be grown in Kanoehe Bay.