Predicting Weather By The Moon - Xavier University Libraries

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Weather By The Moon
IN FISHING
It was important for Maori to know when Perigee occurred
because it affected the fishing.. At Perigee the extra
gravitational effect whips up the tides and the weather,
causing higher tides and rougher seas. Fish don’t come near
the shore at this time because the churning of the sea near
the shallows causes sand to get in their gills. So the fishermen
would stay home. Besides, it was safer. But at Apogee,
when the Moon was far away, therefore having less
pull, the conditions were calmer and the fish swam closer
to the land. The Maori fishing calendar is Perigee/Apogee-driven,
and it makes good sense. Fishermen will tell
you even today, that fish bite better a couple of days just
before a storm. A storm is usually Perigee-driven and the
fish are soon going to have to swim further out where food
supply is scarcer. So after the storm they will be back, and
hungry. It will be good fishing then too. The Maori priest
in charge of fishing (the tohunga) had to know in advance
when perigee was imminent. It was not uncommon for the
fishing tohunga to be put to death if he was wrong. Moon
was in Perigee was secret knowledge, passed from teacher
to apprentice.
How did the early Maori priest know when it was Perigee?
He used a callibrated measuring stick to tell him when
the Moon was closest. It is simple enough to run your thumb
along a stick with the arm outstretched, and measure the
size of the diameter of the Moon (whenever it was visible)
around that month. Add two weeks or 14 days and you have
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