IMPROVEMENTS IN FISHING, AND IN THE APPARATUS OR MEANS TO BE EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Pierre Charles Alexandre Jodocius, of Dunkerque, in
the Empire of France, Merchant, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN FISHING, AND IN THE APPARATUS OR MEANS TO BE EMPLOYED THEREIN."—
A communication from abroad by John d'Atouquia de Franca-Netto, of
St. Petersburgh, in the Empire of Russia, Civil Engineer. .
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Pierre Charles Alexandre
Jodocius at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 18th July 1863.
I, PIERRE CHARLES ALEXANDRE JODOCIUS, of Dunkerque, in the Empire of
France, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN FISHING, AND IN THE APPARATUS OR MEANS TO BE EMPLOYED
THEREIN," a communication from abroad by John d'Atouquia de Franca-
Netto, of Saint Petersburgh, in the Empire of Russia, Civil Engineer, to be
as follows:-
This Invention consists in the use made of the attractive or luring power of
an illuminative body on fish of every species, in order to surround or bring the
same into an apparatus, cage, or net so constructed that the fish having once
entered, their escape will be rendered almost impossible. The illuminative
body I employ is the ordinary electric light, or the same in vacuo, the rays of
light passing through white or colored glass or crystal, the different colors to
be chosen according to the phosphoric state of the water or the kind of fishing

page_text: to be undertaken. The apparatus, cages, or nets I employ are of different
sizes, shapes, and construction, and depend upon the tonnage of the fishing
boats, and also on the quantity and species of fish to be caught.
For fishing boats of limited tonnage too small to have anything like an
extensive apparatus on board or to take it in tow, an electrical battery is placed
on board and the currents.conducted to a submarine lamp by a cable, similar
in its construction to that used for the submarine telegraphic cable, a weight
being fixed to the lamp to sink it to the depth required. If the fish lay in
deep waters, the fisherman pays out cable, so as to lower the submarine lamp
as much as the length of the cable will allow, and, after a pause, the cable is
hauled up gently, so as to attract-the fish near to the surface of the water, and
then the fisherman acts in the ordinary way. In this case a canvas buoy,
coated with vulcanized india-rubber so as to make it impermeable to water or
air, is of great use; when not required it can easily be rolled, and will not
take more room on board than a spare topsail; on the top of the buoy is fitted
a mouth-piece with a cock for forcing air into the interior till it rises, to the
proper height; in the lower part of the buoy a ring so fixed and secured by
braces corresponding with a belt; on this belt are also fixed several rings to
allow the lashing of the buoy rope and the holding of it. The cable passes
through the ring and corresponds with the electric lamp suspended by an
additional rope or by the same cable, so as to allow its ascent or descent to be
directed either from the fishing boat or from a wherry boat placed near the
buoy and bearing the electric battery.
For fishing boats of larger tonnage another net or cage may be used, in which
hoops of a circular form are employed to keep the net of a settled shape. In the
centre of the top hoop is placed the submarine lamp, and a cable made similar
to a submarine telegraphic cable may be directed from on board or suspended
to a buoy. The fish enter by openings at the bottom of this net, and when the
fisherman considers his cage to be sufficiently filled, he can pull a cable fixed
to the lower part of the net; this cable or rope passes or runs through iron
rings round the lower portion of the net, and when drawn shuts the net.
For fishing boats of still larger tonnage other cages or apparatus may be
employed, the choice depending a good deal upon the capacity of the vessel,
the depth and position of the fish, the weather, and state of the water, and
also the quantity of fish, if there be strong currents, or if the vessel is to fish
when in motion. Although they differ in form, the principle is the same. The
nets are of sufficient capacity to contain any desired quantity of fish, and within
these nets are placed an illuminative body, and different openings allow the
rays of the light to spread in the different directions; these openings have a

page_text: determined form something like the shape of a funnel. In apparatus of large
dimensions, air and water ballast, with feed pumps, valves, and other necessary
apparatus, cause this cage to be lowered or raised with facility. The cage may
also be formed of round or elliptical frames made so as to retain always the
same form; to these frames are adapted bars which can be fixed at pleasure,
and which give the requisite form to the cage; in the middle of this apparatus
the lamp is fixed. The exterior of the cage may be made of painted cloth,
covered on one or on the other side by nets; by this means the apparatus may
be reduced in size. For that purpose the bars are made to be fixed or to be
taken off at pleasure. The exterior also may be made of sheet iron or wood,
the joints so prepared as to allow its size to be reduced when on board.
The openings at the lower part have the form of funnels, so that fish once
received in them are there retained; a weight is fixed at the lower part of the
cages; strong bars or chains may be fixed round the ribs to one of the hoops,
so that a proper cable, dependant or independant of the electric cable, may be
fastened to them.
For a large fishery and vessels of great power and tonnage another form of
apparatus or cage can be used. In this apparatus the ribs may be made of
iron or timber, and the exterior may consist of a wooden, iron, or hemp lattice.
In the front part of the apparatus and on each side compartments are made of
a material fitted to resist high pressure and to be entirely water-tight. In the
middle of the partition board forming one of the sides of the compartment a
pane. of glass is fixed, made water-tight, and permitting a view of the interior
of the apparatus. In the top of this compartment a man-hole, also water-tight,
will allow any one to enter when required; in this room the electric battery is
placed. In case the ordinary light should be used, it ought to be placed in
front of the pane of glass, taking care to have a reflector placed behind the
illuminating body, and when the depth of submersion allows it, an observer
can be let into the compartment; air may be forced into the compartment by
air-feed pipes communicating with a pump or float. The other two compart-
ments are made to keep the apparatus balanced and to take in ballast; when
required for that purpose a valve is fixed on one of the sides of each compart
ment, and from the bottom of these compartments pipes communicate with a
special pump placed on board the fishing ships; by opening the valves water is
let in and the apparatus submerged; by working the pump the water is forced
out and the apparatus raised. The remaining part of the apparatus in entirely
filled with water, and the exterior covering is so made as to allow of the easy
entrance and exit of the water. The fish are admitted through one or several
openings in the aft or stem of the apparatus. These openings may be pro-

page_text: tected by vertical grates, forming an angle dependant upon the size of the fish
to be caught. These grates have the appearance of funnels; they assist the
admission of fish into the cage; they can be made of iron, wood, or other
material, and are protected by a frame. They can, if required, be made so as
to move round as centres and take a parallel position to the longitudinal axis
of the apparatus as soon as required when the vessel is in progress. In the
cage at the intersection point or line formed by the axis of the different open-
ings I place an illuminating body, so as to attract or lure the fish, from.three
different directions, and in the forward part of the cage a second illuminating
body, for the purpose of preventing the fish from remaining in the stern part
of the apparatus, where they might, if in great quantity, obstruct the openings.
These openings allow them easy admittance, but once in the apparatus, the
fish cannot get out again; a grate or net is prepared in the bottom of the
cage, to which tackles may be fixed, and with the aid of one of the fishing
ship's yards all the fish caught may at once be lifted and placed on board the
boat. For this cage no particular precaution is required, except that light.
should only be seen through the openings.. This condition must be likewise
observed in the other apparatus.. In every case great care must be taken to
ensure the perfect insulation of electrical conductors in, the water.
To avoid the complication produced by the use of apparatus for supplying
air, I generally use electric light in vacuo, the two currents being conducted,
by a cable of the same kind as a telegraphic submarine cable..
For small apparatus or cages lightly made, one light placed in the centre
without any air compartments, or at the most one or two.(the electrical battery
to be placed on board is quite sufficient..
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Pierre Charles Alexandre Jodocius in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 12th January 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PIERRE
CHARLES ALEXANDRE JODOCIUS,.. of Dunkerque, in the Empire of France,
Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of July, in the year of our..Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Pierre Charles Alexandre Jodocius, Her special license that I, the said

page_text: Pierre Charles Alexandre Jodocius, my executors, 'administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Pierre Charles Alexandre Jodocius, my executors,
administrators, or assigns; should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of
Man, ani Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FISHING, AND IN THE APPARATUS OR
MEANS TO BE EMPLOYED THEREIN," a communication to me from abroad by John
d'Atouquia de Franca-Netto, of Saint Petersburgh, in the Empire of Russia,
Civil Engineer, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Pierre
Charles Alexandre Jodocius, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my hand and seal, or under the hand and seal of one of them,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and.
in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be
filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Pierre Charles Alexandre Jodocius, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:―
The said Invention consists in the application and use of the attractive or
luring power of an illuminative body on fish of every species, in order to
surround or bring the same into an apparatus, cage, net, or other device so
constructed that the fish having once entered therein, their escape will be
rendered impossible. The illuminative agent which I prefer to employ is the
ordinary electric light, or the same in vacuo, but any other sufficiently
powerful light may be used. The rays of light are transmitted through white
or colored glass or crystal, the different colors to be chosen according to the
phosphoric state of the water or its color, or the kind of fishing to be under-
taken. The apparatus, cages, or nets which I have found to answer the best
are of different sizes, shapes, and construction, and are herein-after fully
described; their size and construction depends on the tonnage of the fisher.
boat, and also on the quantity and species of fish to be caught.
For fishing boats of limited tonnage, which would be too small to carry any
thing like an extensive apparatus on board, or to take such an apparatus in
tow, an electric battery is placed on board, and the electric currents are con-
ducted to a submarine lamp by a cable similar in its construction to that used
for submarine telegraphic cables, a weight being fixed to the lamp to sink it

page_text: to the depth required. If the fish lay in deep water, the fisherman pays out
cable so as to lower the submarine lamp .as much as the length of the cable
will allow, and after a pause the cable is hauled up gently, so as to attract or
Jure the fish near to the surface of the water, and then the fisherman acts in
the ordinary way. In this case a canvas buoy (A, represented in elevation at
Figures 1 and 2 of my Drawings), coated with vulcanized india-rubber so as
to make it impermeable to water or air, is of great utility when not required
for immediate use; it can easily be rolled or packed up, and will not occupy
more room than a spare top sail. On the top of the buoy I attach a mouth-
piece provided with a cork for forcing air into the interior till it is inflated to
the proper size. In the lower part of the buoy at R a ring is fixed and
secured by braces corresponding with the belt C, D; on this belt are also
fixed several rings to allow of the lashings of the buoy rope and the holding of
the buoy. The electric conductor or cable passes through the ring R, com-
municates with the submerged electric lamp K, which is suspended by an
additional rope, or by the same electric cable or conductor, so as to allow of
the ascent or descent of the light being directed either from the fishing boat
or from a wherry or small boat situate near the buoy, and carrying the electric
battery.
In Figure 1 I have also represented a fishing boat from which nets of the
usual construction are being cast out so as to enclose the fish which may be
attracted round the submerged light; but with fishing boats of larger tonnage
another form of net or cage (shewn in elevation at Figure 3) may be
employed. In this apparatus a series of hoops x, x, of a circular form, are
employed to keep the nets N in a settled and proper state. In the centre of
the top hoop is placed a submarine lamp K, provided with an electric or
other suitable light, and a cable C, made similar to a submarine telegraphic
electric cable may be directed thereto, from on board, or suspended to a buoy ;
r, r, are metal rings attached to the bottom of the net, and through which is
passed a cable or rope c'. The fish enter by the large opening or mouth o
'at the bottom of this net, and when the fisherman considers his cage or net to
be sufficiently filled, he pulls the cable or rope c', which passes or runs
through the rings r, r, round the lower portion of the net, and when drawn
closes the mouth of the net. The hoops x, x, x, can be folded together when
on board for easy carriage and stowage.
For fishing boats of still larger tonnage other cages or apparatus herein-
after described and represented on the Drawings may be employed, the choice
depending to a great extent upon the capacity of the vessel, the depth and
position of the fish, the state of the weather and of the water; also the

page_text: quantity and kind of fish required, and whether there be strong currents, or
whether it is intended to fish when the vessel is in motion; although they
differ in form, the principle is the same.
Figure 4 represents an end elevation of one of these forms of apparatus ;
Figure 5 is a partial side elevation and longitudinal section of the same;
Figure 6 is a transverse section of the apparatus, and Figure 7 is a plan
thereof; Figures 8 and 9 represent respectively a side elevation and horizontal
section of a modified form of apparatus made on the same principle as the last,
the corresponding parts in both apparatus being indicated by similar letters of.
reference. These apparatus are of a sufficient capacity to contain any desired
quantity of fish, and within them is placed an illuminative body K. Openings.
0, 0, are provided, allowing the rays of the light to spread in different
directions, these openings being funnel-shaped, as may be seen on referring to
the Drawing.
j
"In apparatus of large dimensions air and water ballast appliances are
adapted thereto, with feed pumps, valves, and other necessary devices for
causing the cage to be raised or lowered with facility, as herein-after described..
The body or frame of the apparatus or cage is comprised of a series of round.
or elliptical hoops ac, ac, made so as to retain always the same form; to these
frames are adapted longitudinal bars y, y, which can be fixed at pleasure, and
give the requisite form to the cage; in the middle of this apparatus at K the.
lamp is placed. The exterior of the cage may be made of painted sail cloth.;:
this allows the apparatus to be furled by placing the hoops a one upon the.
other; for that purpose the bars y are made so as to be fixed or removed at
pleasure. Or in lieu of sail cloth, the exterior may be made of galvanized
sheet iron or of wood, the joints being so formed as to allow the apparatus to.
be reduced in size when on board. The openings O, O, are made funnel-:
shaped, or considerably contracted at their inner ends, in order that the.fish:
having once entered the interior of the apparatus, will be prevented. from.
escaping therefrom. A weight is fixed to the ring R at the lower part of the
cages or apparatus, and bars z, z, are secured to one or several of the hoops x,.
to which bars is secured a proper cable, dependant or independant of. the
electric cable. -
'
The lower part of the apparatus (Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7) is closed only by a
net N, which is attached thereto so as to allow the fish to be easily taken out.
when the apparatus has been hauled on board. When the apparatus has to
be lowered to the bottom of the sea, two wooden or iron supports or stands S, S,.
are fixed thereto, as shown in Figures 4, 5, and 6, to keep it in its proper.
position.

page_text: Figure 10 (Sheet 2) represents a longitudinal vertical section of another
form of apparatus intended to be used in large fisheries and with vessels of
great power and tonnage, and Figure 11 is a sectional plan of the same, and
Figure 12 is an end elevation thereof. In this apparatus the ribs may be
made of iron or timber, and the exterior may consist of a wooden, iron, or
hempen lattice.
In the fore part of the apparatus at A, and on each side of the same at
A', A', air and water tight compartments are made of such material as will
resist a. great pressure. In the middle of the partition board B (Figure 10),
which forms one of the sides of the water-tight compartments A, there is fixed
so as to be also water-tight, a pane of glass C, permitting the fishermen who
are stationed in the compartment A to view the interior of that part of the
apparatus wherein the fish are contained. In the top of the compartment A
a man-hole is provided closed by a water-tight cover, and kept secure by a
pressing screw D to admit of ingress or egress when required. In this com-
partment A is placed the électric battery when the electric light is employed,
but in case an ordinary light be used, it ought to be placed in front of the pane
of glass, taking care to have a reflector placed behind the light; and when
the depth of submersion allows it, an observer can be placed in the compart-
ment.A, which is kept supplied with air by pipes for the purpose communi-
cating with an air-forcing pump or an air reservoir, as is well understood in
the use of diving apparatus. The two side compartments A', A¹, are made to
keep the apparatus balanced, and to take in ballast when required; for that
purpose a valve is fixed on one of the sides of each compartment, and from the
bottom of these compartments pipes communicating with a special pump
placed on board the fishing vessel. By opening the valves water is let in, and
the apparatus is submerged; by working the air pump the water is forced out,
and the apparatus is raised. The remaining part of the apparatus is entirely
filled with water, and the exterior covering is so made as to allow of the easy
entrance and exit of the water. The fish are admitted through one or several
openings in the aft or stern of the apparatus.
In the Drawing three openings O, 0¹, 0", are shown, each of them formed
by two vertical grates P, P, placed at an angle depending upon the size of the
fish to be caught. These grates converge towards one common centre, and
have the appearance of funnels; they assist the admission of fish into the cage.
They can be made. of iron, wood, or other material, and are supported by a
frame x, x. They can, if required, be made so as to move or turn round the
fixed centres c, c, and assume a position parallel to the longitudinal axis of
the apparatus when the vessel is in motion. Inside the cage, at the point of

page_text: intersection of the converging centre lines of the different openings, there is
placed an illuminative body k, so as to attract or lure the fish from three
different directions; whilst in the forward part of the cage or apparatus a
second illuminative body k¹ is placed for the purpose of preventing the fish
from remaining in the stern part of the apparatus, where they might, if con-
gregating in large numbers, obstruct the openings O, 01, 0". These openings
allow of easy admittance, but when once entered, the fish cannot escape from
the apparatus or cage. A grate or net is prepared in the bottom of the cage,
to which tackles may be fixed, and with the aid of one of the fishing ships'
yards, all the fish caught may at once be lifted and placed on board.
In using this cage or apparatus no particular precaution is required, except
that the light should only be seen through the openings. This condition
must be likewise observed in the other apparatus already described, the one
shown at Figure 3 being the only one where this precaution might without
great inconvenience be dispensed with. In every case great care must of
course be taken to insure the perfect insulation of the electrical conductors.
To avoid the complication produced by the use of apparatus for supplying air
to the light, I generally use the electric light in vacuo, the two .currents being
conducted by a cable of the same kind as the submarine telegraphic cable. For
small apparatus or cages lightly made, one light placed in the centre, without
any air compartment, or at the most one or two (the electric battery to be
placed on board) is quite sufficient.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel.
and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, the general system or mode of luring or attracting and catching fish,
substantially as herein-before described and illustrated by my Drawings.
Second, the application and use of a submerged electric light or other
suitable illuminative body, in vacuo or otherwise, for the purpose of attracting
or luring fish into any convenient or suitable net, cage, or other apparatus
whereby the fish may be caught, substantially as herein-before described.
Third, the combination of a submerged illuminative body with the peculiar
net herein-before described and illustrated at Figure 3 of the Drawings.
Fourth, the application and use of the peculiar cage or apparatus herein-
before described and illustrated by Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, in combination
with a submerged illuminative body, substantially as and for the purpose herein-
before set forth.

page_text: Fifth, the application and use to and in the luring or attracting. and
catching of fish of a submerged apparatus, and one or more illuminative bodies
placed therein, substantially. as herein-before described and illustrated by
Figures 10, 11, and 12 of the Drawings.'
In witness whereof, I, the said Pierre Charles Alexandre Jodocius, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this First day of January, One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
: