Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2005 i Hawaii Fishing News

Tagging Project Wins More Support ■ We would like to thank all the people who have given their time and support to the Ulua Tagging Project. Special thanks to Gov. Linda Lingle, chairperson of the DLNR Peter Young and administrators of the DAR Bill Devick and Francis Oishi. They, along with many others, were recently instrumental in providing our first full-time temporary position dedicated to the Ulua Tagging Project. This will help our project deal with the overwhelming demand from more than 3,000 participants who have tagged and recovered more than 18,000 ulua/papio statewide. We have distributed more than 34,000 tags since June 2000. The DAR staff has been distributing an average of 900 tags per month to requesting anglers. As of November 2004, about 2,500 tag recoveries had been…

Aloha Chuck, It’s always nice to see pictures of big fish and tournament reports in your “Holoholo Style” pages. As an avid tournament fisherman and winner of the 2002 World Billfish Challenge at Ko ‘Olina and third place 2003, I feel the need to point out a significant discrepancy in a letter and pictures published last month related to the 2004 World Billfish Challenge at Ko ‘Olina. The tournament was modified IGFA (International Game Fishing Association) rules, which are actually quite simple to understand and follow (see http://www.themarlinclub.com/IGFA-Rules.htm). The Ko ‘Olina tournament modified the IGFA rules in that it ignored the terminal tackle rigging and leader-length portion of the rules. All other IGFA rules applied. January’s “Holoholo Style” letter on the 2004 Ko ‘Olina tournament specifically referred to handlining, and…

■ The National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) is almost one year into a mammoth task: setting its nationwide recreational fisheries action plan for the next five years. We recognize the important role anglers play in the development of a shared vision for our ocean resources. Though we call it a strategic plan, it’s really a contract between the agency and you, America’s anglers. It says there are goals that we both agree on and lays out our game plan for making it happen. It’s our promise that we will work with you to bring improvements in recreational fishing through better management, cooperative and credible science and collaborative outreach. The Recreational Fisheries Strategic Plan was crafted over the last 11 months with input from anglers, industry and our government and…

■ In 1955, Vernon E. Brock, then the director of the Division of Fish and Wildlife of the Territory of Hawai‘i (now the Division of Aquatic Resources of the Department of Land and Natural Resources), decided to introduce groupers and snappers to Hawai‘i from elsewhere in the Pacific. These are important food fish at other islands of Oceania, and it was thought the larger species would have value as game fish. The native fish fauna of Hawai‘i has no species of the large snapper genus Lutjanus and only two groupers, one the rare giant grouper (Epinephelus lanceolatus) and the native Hawaiian hapu‘upu‘u (E. quernus), a deep-water species in the main Hawaiian islands. The hapu‘upu‘u occurs to depths of over 1,000 feet, though the young are occasionally encountered in diving depths.…

■ When biologists looked into the stomachs of 304 roi, they found fish from a variety of families, leading researchers to conclude that roi do not prey on specific species. This finding, along with others, is shedding light on popular perceptions of one fish introduced to Hawai‘i in the 1950s to augment the state’s fisheries. Roi, known scientifically as Cephalopholis argus, has long been perceived as diminishing native reef fish populations. At public meetings, dive tour operators, as well as spear and shoreline fishermen regularly talk of witnessing roi feeding on yellow tang, lionfish or herbivorous species. Over half of aquarium fishermen surveyed in 2002 cited roi as one of the major threats to West Hawaii’s reefs and fauna. To investigate whether roi are a scapegoat or a significant threat…

Aloha Chuck, I wanted to share a story of fishing perseverance with you. My college buddy visited me from Alaska for a week in December. He had a 185-lb halibut under his belt (on a 23’ boat in 40-degree water!), and, I wanted to show him something bigger in the 50th State. We planned a week in Kona, hoping for a marlin. The charter guys told me it was slow, so. I asked Allan, “How bad do you want to catch a marlin?” His response, “Whatever it takes.” So we set out to fish for seven days straight. By the end of the third day, all we had was a mahimahi and a shibi to show for 150 gallons of diesel. Everyone else was catching mahimahi all over the place,…

High Seas Fishing Battle ■ There’s a sea battle taking place north of Hawai‘i that is as important to Hawaii’s fishermen as the Battle of Midway was for World War II. The Washington, D.C., National Ocean Service (NOS) is attempting to keep, and so far succeeding at keeping, Honolulu’s Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WESPAC) from doing a draft environmental impact statement. Why should a main Hawaiian island fisherman care? Both agencies are sections of NOAA. Both agencies have concerns about fishing in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands (NWHI). NOS is decidedly against fishing and has its own study to prove it. NOS has refused to talk with WESPAC on fishing management in the NWHI. NOS is developing the NWHI as a no-fishing National Marine Sanctuary. WESPAC believes it has…

■ Our friends at Waipahu Bike held their annual invitational surfcasting tournament on the dark-moon nights of November 13 and 14, 2004. The turnout was pretty large with 123 anglers, all competing on o‘ahu’s west shore. This year’s catch was very impressive in all categories. In the ulua category, Miles Kaneshiro’s 66-lb brute took top honors. Wes Imamoto’s 36-lb kagami and Gary Ono’s 21.42-lb white ulua rounded off the ulua category. The papio category saw some pretty hefty fish, also. Jake Darakjian’s 9.34-lb ‘omilu placed first. Darrel Hagmoc took second with a 7.56-lb yellowspot, and third went to Chris DeVera and his 7.02-lb white papio. The ‘o‘io category saw a lot of fish, the heaviest of which was Joe Bautista’s 8.64-lb ‘o‘io. Albert Lauro came in second place with a…

■ On a mid-January fishing trip off the Kona Coast, TERMINATOR skipper Bomboy Llanes was amazed at the sight of the fish at the end of his line. A broadbill swordfish? Caught at the surface during the daytime? The veteran Kona skipper had only heard of a daytime broadbill catch here once before. Twenty or so years ago, his cousin John Allen Llanes was the crew on the BILL COLLECTOR the day they caught a 500-lb broadbill on a trolled lure. Because those two catches are so unusual and rare, they really serve as lessons in how not to fish for broadbill swordfish here. Before we look at successful methods, however, let’s tell the rest of the bizarre story of Bomboy’s extraordinary 88-lb broadbill. In addition to Bomboy, the characters…

published 1986 Reprinted from HFN’s book: FISH DISHES OF THE PACIFIC …from the FISHWIFE (Limited copies available from HFN (808) 395-4499) Let’s stop ignoring the ta‘ape. This blue-lined snapper, which was introduced to Hawaii about 50 years ago, is as colorful as its relatives, easier to catch, less expensive to buy and just as good to eat. The ta‘ape lives closer to shore than other snapper and is caught year-round in great numbers by commercial fishermen, who don’t get as much for such abundant amounts offish. This makes ta‘ape the best buy among the 14 species of snapper found in Hawaii’s waters. Ta‘ape average ½ to 1 pound, a nice size for cooking whole. It can be fried, poached, steamed, braised, broiled and baked. No matter how it is cooked,…

■ Finally! My dad shouted to the family to pack our bare necessities in a hurry. The call had come, as it did about once every vacation. We were going backside! What was even more exciting, although not quite as usual, was that we were going to camp there overnight! Everyone was ready and we were packed in the truck and on our way to Halawa almost instantly. The trees and pastures flew by, and the long drive was shortened by my imagination screaming to be free, out on the open ocean. Although the drive seemed to pass in fast forward, the packing of the boat seemed to take place in slow motion. Everyone laughed and talked while piling coolers and garbage bags full of personal possessions wrapped with duct…

Gift From the Universe: Another Chance at Life for a Fisherman! ■ Aloha! My name is Marcus Rosehill. I am 49 years young, a former fireman, fighter pilot, retired captain of Aloha Airlines, a recent MLS graduate (Men’s Leadership Seminar-an advanced PSI seminar), and a current fisherman. I have only been fishing for 10 years; however, I grew up in Kane’ohe Bay and learned to love the ocean by fishing, surfing and water-skiing with my father as a young boy. This is my story of a miraculous blessing I received from the universe (God, Akua). This journey began in 1976 when I was hired by the Honolulu Fire Dept (HFD). I was still attending the UH at Manoa. I thought that I was going to make a career at HFD.…

■ During the end of 2004, Kona fishing was excellent. Tons of game fish made it to the scales during December, including three blue marlin weighing over 500 lbs and six 100-plus-lb ‘ahi. Three black marlin ranging in size from 110 to 200 lbs were tagged and released. More than 50 percent of all the billfish hooked in Kona’s waters were released safely. A total of 52 blue marlin were caught during the month: 27 were tagged and released, and 25 were weighed in. Ten striped marlin were tagged and released, and five were weighed in. A whopping total of 69 spearfish were caught: 38 were tagged and released, and 31 came to the scales. Throughout December tons of mahimahi came in-a total of 224 were caught- and 18 ono…

For letters, with photos, received during February we’ll send you HFN’s New Ulua Hook® Embroidered cap logo design…our way of saying thanks for sharing your catch!…Hana pa‘a, Chuck Send to: P.O. Box 25488, Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96825 Aloha Chuck, Here’s a father/son picture that I like. It is of Michael (father) and son Michaiah Soares with a nice uku caught bottom fishing on the HALLELUJAH HOU off Moloka‘i, a few weeks ago. Mahalo, Clay Ching Kaunakakai, Moloka‘i Hello Chuck, This is a 2.2-lb po‘opa‘a I caught it off Moloka‘i’s Puko‘o Beach behind the reef with 15-lb line and Shimano reel. The water was about 30 feet deep. I used shrimp for bait. Don’t know how long and wide it was I didn’t measure it. But it weighed 2.2 lbs. Please put…

Tournament Blues ■ We knew going into the tournament that the bite was going to be hard to find. Because there was no pattern, we decided the first day to go to about 10 miles in front of Indianapolis Seamount, a minor seamount 40 miles out. The bait showed up right when we got there, but we could not pull out a fish. We worked it for about an hour and a half but had no luck. The bite was extremely slow. Only a couple of mahimahi showed up for the rest of the teams. We had one fly by our baits but miss all of them. At least we saw something at the end of the day. On the second day, we checked the weather and it looked good…

Northwestern Hawaiian Islands ■ The federal government is looking to establish a National Marine Sanctuary in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI). Under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, the development and recommendation of fishing regulations for National Marine Sanctuaries is delegated to the Regional Fishery Management Councils. To this effect, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council- the policy-making agency for fisheries management in federal waters (3 to 200 miles offshore) around Hawai‘i and other U.S. Pacific islands-is considering a range of fishing regulations for the proposed NWHI sanctuary. These draft regulations are consistent with the purposes and policies of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act and the Goals and Objectives Statement of the proposed sanctuary. Of particular relevance is Goal 7: “Maintain ecosystem integrity by limiting and controlling fishing activities using…

■ As a diver in Hawai‘i since the mid-1950s, I cherish memories of our Hawaiian reefs before the devastating impact of overfishing, development and introduced species. Dr. John Randall’s accompanying article in HAWAII FISHING NEWS on roi and ta‘ape in Hawaii is a good summary of the history of their introduction and the extent of the problems these species are causing in Hawaiian waters. Actually, he may have understated the problem with roi, but there may be things we can do to clean up this mess. Twenty to 30 years ago I dove frequently in the Kona area and even kept a small dive boat there. At that time, I would occasionally encounter roi in Kona, but virtually never on O‘ahu. In the last two years, I have returned to…

■ Aloha to all HFN readers. This month I’m going to show you how to make your own black bean sauce like the sauce you’ve eaten in your favorite Chinese restaurants. We’ll serve the sauce with mahimahi, or dolphinfish. Mahimahi is readily available at any seafood market, and it is very moist and mild in flavor. I pair this fish with jumbo prawns, which will guarantee you to win over anybody you cook for. In restaurants, the black bean sauce usually is prepared ahead of time and thickened with a slurry. By doing that, restaurants can hold their sauce for a long period of time. In order to make this sauce with no hassle, all you need is to gather and prep your ingredients ahead of time. Half an hour…

Nu‘uanu Catfish Season Ends ■ The catfish season ended about the same way that it began-with cold, wintry showers and catfish that were not particularly interested in the various offerings. As a matter of fact, the brightest parts of the days on the reservoir were the various flamboyant rain suits that dotted the landscape. The season was good. There were many days where the catch rate was around 50 percent, and then there were those when the catch hovered around the 10-percent mark. On those latter days the advanced beginners were replaced by new beginners, who had no clue why they were not connecting. Let us examine one or two observed problems. The Quick Set This was probably the most common mistake made among those who chose to use circle…

© HAWAII FISHING NEWS, 2004 Purse Seine Fishing Pushes Aku Fishing Aside in Papua New Guinea ■ As stated last month, once Star Kist and Papua New Guinea (PNG) agreed on the operational terms and conditions of setting up a tuna fishing and canning industry on Manus, we went to the Cabinet for approval to proceed with its establishment where the Naval base was located in Lombrum. However, after a series of meetings with Manus and Navy leaders on Lombrum, Star Kist advised members of the negotiating team that it could no longer support the development of a plant on Manus for the following reasons: • The Defense Force objected strongly, and this would make effective sharing of the wharf and other facilities most difficult; • Star Kist had invested…