Collecting Your Own Fish
02/23/98
Part 1 - Introduction
Welcome to our series about collecting your own fish. This first article is an Introduction and a basic list of what you will need for collecting. Part Two will be about Catch Buckets, Part Three - Nets, Part Four - Transporting Your Catch, and Part Five - How To Catch The Fish.
O.K. folks, this is probably going to be the hardest series of articles to write, for me. Tropical Fish collection, at the very least on a commercial basis, is one of the toughest jobs I have ever had. We came to Moloka'i in 1989 not knowing a guppy from a grouper. Taking fish from the wild brings with it a great responsibility. If you can swim the reef, collect what you need (no more, no less) and leave the water with minimal signs that you were there, then you are becoming a good collector. The fish you take home should show absolutely no signs of ammonia burn, no raised or missing scales or no sign of the bends. It is not easy to bring home a "perfect fish". You have to take the time to set the net correctly, don't let the fish "squirrel around" in the net and abrade their skin, don't rush decompression (for fish caught below 30 feet) and don't crowd them into a collection bucket to the point that they get burnt. In a word, take your time and do it right. Tropical fish are a precious commodity and a gift from nature and you should respect them as such.
Of course we did pick one of the worst channels in the world to work in. Our little 19 foot Rienell with a 190hp Mercruiser I/O fits very well in between the 6 foot waves that are normal on the Kalohi Channel between Moloka'i and Lanai. The winds, in spite of what the forecasters on Oahu say, are usually 20-30 mph Trades (N.E.) with higher gusts. Moloka'i and Lanai form sort of a funnel and the Trades usually start really kicking in and cross the channel by about 9:00 am. We have tried launching early (sunrise..... Big Mistake) in order to beat the wind, but found that most of the fish we are looking for keep banker's hours and don't come out of their houses until the sun comes up a little later in the morning.
Mano (Hawaiian for shark) is at his finest between dusk and dawn. Humans are not normally on a shark's menu. They prefer dead or wounded stuff, but mistakes do happen. A wounded fish from spearing, or whatever, bleeds and sends out a very specific vibration that attracts predators. Fortunately, netted fish do not react this way. For the most part we have not been bothered too much by sharks. In the nine years we have been diving and collecting fish we have had six up close encounters with Mano. Statistically that's not very many, but believe me, six is plenty. There was the thing with Brutus, a 20 foot Tiger shark, but I think seeing Deb flying out of the water, tank, weight belt and all, probably scared him as much as he scared Deb. Flying fish are one thing, but flying people??? It never fails, just when I convince Deb that Mano is not around unless you can hear the music (the theme from Jaws) that there is no problem, Mano slides up and spooks her again. The starboard side of our boat where Deb enters the water is scarred with her fingernail marks. It's getting harder and harder to find a distraction, "ooooh look Deb, a flying pig", so I can fling her overboard to see if there are any sharks around before I get wet. :-) Hawaiian sharks that we have seen are the tiger, hammerhead (twice), whitetip, blacktip reef and gray sharks.
All joking aside, a lot of collectors carry bang sticks for protection against sharks. I have always figured that, "if your time is up, it's up". Hawaiian's believe that Mano is their Aumakua (guardian god; familial ancestor spirit that would normally take the form of an animal to protect and do the bidding of the family), therefore, no problem. Works for me, Thanks, Dad! When we have seen a shark they seem to be more curious than anything else. They check us out and go on their way. When you get over the initial scare after you see one, they are actually magnificent animals. If a shark approaches you, keeps swimming smoothly, doesn't get his back up (arch) or start swimming "herky jerky", you'll be all right.
Before you start collecting anything, the first thing you need to do is check where you are considering collecting and find out about the laws. In many areas around the world there are restricted or protected areas and fishing of any kind is prohibited. Also do your research and know which fish might be protected species in your area, or if there is a size limit. Respect the laws and do not take anything that you are not supposed to.
Trops (tropical fish) need three things in life: good water, food and a place to hide or live in (a house). Take the time, before you start collecting, to go in the ocean and just watch the fish and what they do. Most fish have several houses and will travel from one to another. When startled they will run for cover. Wrasses dive into the sand, surgeons will melt into the coral, butterflies will dart into a puka (Hawaiian for hole), Mano will scare the phooey out of you and the fish, and the eels will rearrange your extremities if you dangle them in front of their house. Rule one, never stick your hand into a puka, you don't know what will be in there! The key to collecting trops is to think like a trop. Learn the characteristics of each fish and you'll know how to catch them. The basic point is, their job is to outsmart you and your job is to outsmart them! We'll cover this in more detail in our "Capturing Fish" article later in this series.
What you are going to need to collect Trops is a fence net, a hand net, a collection/catch bucket, a five gallon bucket for carrying water in, an ammonia buffer, something to transport your catch in and the ability to think like a fish. You can dive from a boat or from a beach, you can scuba dive or free dive. These things you will have to decide for yourself and determine what kind of dive gear you will need for the method you choose. You can always find some nice tide pools by the beach shores to capture fish and inverts in too. All this takes is wading and something to protect your feet with, along with your catch gear. Rule Two, do not pick up anything with your hands unless you know what it is, and if it might sting or not! That's what hand nets are for.
If you get poked or cut by something be sure to disinfect and treat it properly as infections may result if not careful. We've been there! Carrying a basic first-aid kit with hydrogen peroxide, cotton balls, band-aids and an antibacterial ointment are helpful to have if you get minor cuts or scrapes needing attention.
You might want to carry some emergency antihistamines in case you get stung by something you might have an adverse reaction to. It's like bee stings, for some people it's no problem, but for others it can be critical. Better safe than sorry.
A topically applied product like a "stop sting stick" is good to have handy in case a minor sting occurs. Getting slapped upside the neck with a Portuguese man-of-war is not a pleasant experience. Good thing we had our "stop sting stick"! Our motto is "always go prepared". When you're dealing with ocean critters, anything is possible.
Part Two of our series next week will cover Catch Buckets. What kind to use, how to make your own, how many fish you can put in a particular size bucket, which fish you can put together and which fish not to are some of the things we will be discussing.
A Hui Hou Until Next Week,
Stan & Debbie Hauter
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