Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2011 i Hawaii Fishing News

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, which was created by Congress to manage fisheries in the exclusive economic zone waters surrounding the US Pacific Islands, announces the following public meetings: Western Pacific Stock Assessment Review Council office, 1164 Bishop St., Suite 1400, Honolulu, Hawaii April 5-7 (T-Th) 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. Major Agenda Items: Essential fish habitat (EFH) and habitat of particular concern (HAPC) for deep slope bottomfish in the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaii Archipelago Fishery Ecosystem Plan (HAFEP) Plan Team Council office, 1164 Bishop St., Suite 1400, Honolulu, Hawaii April 12-13 (T-W) 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Major Agenda Items: Fishery monitoring and research; HAFEP draft annual report structure; coastal and marine spatial planning; annual catch limits and catch shares; options for non-commercial data reporting; Hawaii bottomfish EFH…

Free-Divers Head to Kona in Search of Fame and Fish On February 19, the Kona Coast Spearfishing Outlet held the Third Annual Kona Coast Spearfishing Challenge. Each year, this event gives island spearfishermen and women a reason to get together for some fun and friendly competition. Leading up to tournament day, the weather and water conditions appeared as though they weren't going to be ideal for diving. Fortunately, a break in the conditions brought the competitors calm and glassy water. It was almost a perfect day for spear fishing on the Big Island. A total of 62 competitors made their way to Kona. Some came from as far as Nevada, and quite a few came from neighbor islands. Participants were allowed to dive anywhere between South Point and the Kohala…

The famous fishing village of Kona, Hawai'i, waited with excitement on Friday, March 16. Word had spread fast that another 1, 000-plus-lb marlin was on the way to the certified pier scales to be weighed and photographed. Capt. Bart Miller and crew Dominic Fagundes of the boat BLACK BART had taken some anglers out to the area known as "Pine Tree Run," where at 2 p.m. the super giant marlin took a purple and blue Bart Miller lure called "Torpedo Taper." After a 2½-hour struggle on 130-lb test line, the giant marlin was boated. A very large crowd of tourists, charter boat captains and village residents greeted the boat when it landed with the super-sized marlin at the Kona pier. The fish measured 16 feet, 4 inches and had a…

The 27th World Cup Blue Marlin Championship (World Cup) will again take place worldwide on July 4, 2011. The single largest blue marlin over 500 lbs wins all the cash. The winning team in 2010 took home over $350,000 for their Cape Verde lslands blue. Teams can register online at <www.bluemarlinworldcup.com> to fish eight hours in their time zone any place in the world. Fishing is from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. The registration fee of $3000 covers all anglers on the boat. There is also an optional $5000 added value Big Blue Challenge. The last two years, the winning teams were not entered in the Big Blue Challenge and missed out on an approximate $140,000 additional payout that was returned to the teams entered. Over the years, the weights…

Dreaming of 'the Big One' Some fishermen catch that big fish of a lifetime only once. More than a few fishermen in Hawai'i catch really large fish frequently! But many fishermen never ever really catch a good-sized fish. All of us are probably dreaming of catching a bigger one, but that's part of what motivates us to fish! Because fishing was slow on the Hilo Coast, I went into the Hilo Trollers archives and found a photo of a nice-sized marlin landed during a 2008 tournament. Capt. Ted Young and crew took John Parsons out on the OLENA and landed this marlin. Let's all dream of catching one at least as large as this once-in-a-lifetime fish. To do so takes quite a bit of luck. It also takes being in…

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has closed the commercial and non-commercial fisheries in the main Hawaiian islands fishery for seven deepwater bottomfish species ("Deep Seven") effective March 12, 2011, through August 31, 2011, as a result of reaching the total allowable catch (TAC) for the 2010-2011 fishing year. Bottomfish fishing in Hawai'i is managed under the Fishery Ecosystem Plan for the Hawaiian Archipelago (Hawai'i FEP), developed by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (the Council) and implemented by the NMFS under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Regulations governing fishing by U.S. vessels in accordance with the Hawai'i FEP appear at 50 CFR part 665 and at Subpart H of 50 CFR, Part 600. The regulations at Sec. 665.211 authorize the NMFS and the…

Subject: Uraspis helvola? Hi Dr. Randall, We received another hopeful Uraspis helvola. This fish was speared on the Big Island and we do not yet know if it remains whole and available for perusal. Thanks,HFN I think that is Uraspis uraspis, which may be the first valid record for Hawai'i. I am trying to get photos to Dr. Smith-Vaniz, but his e-mail is still blocked. I hope the fish has not been eaten. Aloha,Jack Randall Jack: No, the breast squamation pattern of the Hawaiian fish is clearly that of U. helvola not U. uraspis. See illustrations of the two patterns in the 1984 FAO Western Indian Ocean guide. Bill Smith-Vaniz HFN, I just received the following from Dr. SmithVaniz: "As you know, I am far from completely convinced that Uraspis…

Yikes! Stripes! Lately, the striped marlin have been biting like crazy. On occasion there has been a spearfish bite, but Kona has been experiencing a consistent striped marlin bite. Single-, double- and triple-hookups have been reported, which have made for some pretty interesting stories at the docks. The majority of the striped marlin hooked were tagged and released. Weights were estimated at 30 to over 100 lbs. The MISS MOJO still holds the lead for the largest weighed at The Charter Desk, a 54-lb striped marlin that they caught in January. However, they could have been easily topped if some of the recent stripers had been brought in and weighed. ILLUSIONS' 907-lb Blue Almost one month after Capt. Chad Contessa's 917-lb blue marlin catch, Capt. Steve Sahines aboard the ILLUSIONS…

Maui's Billfish Drought is Over! After a four-year dry spell, the striped marlin finally showed up at Lahaina Harbor. In the middle of February, several hundred strikes were reported during a two-and-a-half week period, and 4 7 stripers were landed. Top-Notch Team Continues Streak Appropriately, the top captain and rookie crewman of 2010 weighed in the first blue marlin of the new year. Eighteen-year-old Steve Stupak wrestled a 649. 7-lb blue marlin in a little over an hour while fishing aboard the START ME UP AGAIN with Capt. Steve Cravens and crew Chris Gifford. They were fishing on the 100-fathom ledge, K-buoy side of the Palaoa Point Lighthouse, off the southwest corner of Lana'i. Big Striper The FINEST KIND weighed in a 108.3-lb striped marlin angled by Brian Moulton. He…

Authored by Jim Rizzuto Hundreds of Detailed Illustrations by Artist Les Hata "Fresh Catch of the Day" contains a fabulous collection of recipes for the many types of seafood available at local seafood counters. You will never again have to ponder what to do with your "Fresh Catch of the Day!" An Unequaled Course in Blue Water Catching! Special Book Offer! Includes postage and taxes. ⬜ HAWAII'S OFFSHORE HUNTERS ………… $15 An unprecedented book of offshore fishermen's proven tactics. ⬜ FISHING Hawaii Style®, Vol. 2 ………… $25 Tricks of the trade from some of the best! Over 500 illustrations. ⬜ FISHING Hawaii Style®, Vol. 3 ………… $25 Tips, tricks, techniques and projects to successful and fun fishing. ⬜ Fresh Catch of the Day …………………… $25 Extensive collection of Hawaii's most…

In various places of the world including one of the smaller islands of Fiji, coral gardeners and scientists have taken a proactive approach to saving their reefs. Here is what they have to say on the subject. Coral reef gardening is the process of rescuing coral reef fragments that have broken from the reef and reattaching them. Dr. Forrester explained how pieces of Elkhorn coral can come away from the reef, often naturally, through storm damage or other disturbances. If undisturbed, and depending on the surface it lands on, coral pieces can reattach to eventually form a new colony, but the natural reattachment process is not typically successful. There are different ways of fixing the coral back to a reef, colony or firm base, using cable ties, epoxy and cement.…

Ahi Fever 2011 The Ahi Fever fishing tournament will be held on Father's Day Weekend, June 18 and 19, 2011. For more information, contact the Waianae Boat Fishing Club at (808) 696-3399, or E-mail: <nswift9005@msn.com>. Talking Story Nothing beats a great fishing story. I am really excited about this month's stories. When those involved were telling me their tales, I felt as if I were there. I could imagine being on their boat and the exact details of the day. I especially loved the smiles of the fishers and their passion for fishing 'The Fish Caught Us' Happy 68th birthday to Capt. Jesse Nohoikaiu III. He claimed he received the greatest gift a fisherman can ask for. At 5 a.m. on Tuesday, February 22, Capt. Jesse was just finishing fiberglassing…

As with the top boat rankings, just looking at total numbers doesn't reflect all the variables used to come up with the final rankings for the top Lahaina Harbor sportfishing captains. I cross-reference my monthly numbers and totals with the captains as closely as possible. I look at all of the variables in each category, give them a number and try to come up with a fair ranking. Size does matter, but I also take into account quality as well as quantity. I'm not going to please everyone. The final statistics are my own and are open to opinions and interpretations. Of the 26 Lahaina Harbor sportfishing captains that caught a billfish during 2010, Capt. Steve Cravens captured the most bill fish: 15. He had 12 blue marlin and three…