Thank you so much for doing this video, which was obviously expensive and difficult to do. Those of us who fish there know that the flooding that occurs at the boat ramp periodically chokes the coral reef with mud from the forest above Puako. It is so thick that you can't run your boat motors after a flood, There is just too much mud in the water. We catch ahi, ono, mahimahi and marlin in front of Puako in 40 fathoms COMMONLY. That looked like a black marlin to me, by the way.
Excellent video brothers. You're absolutely right...it's not the fishing. It's something askew in the enviornment. I'd be looking at the land around the area and see what's washing into the bay.....
I think the Division of Aquatic Resources is going for a quick, easy, and cheep solution. This die off and contamination of coral seems to coincide with the development of the property just south and next to the boat ramp. The area has been cleared, soil was brought in and grass is planted. large amounts of water and fertilizer are being applied to that property to attract prospective buyers. Puako bay's doesn't have the best circulation so any runoff takes much longer to disperse.
The total reported annual catch (over a period of five years) for speared reef fish in West Hawaii was about $25,000. That's a daily average of $68.49.
According to statistics from the Div. of Aquatic Resources there is an average of 16 commercial divers in West Hawaii. With 147 miles of coastline, that's an average of 9 miles per diver. Imagine a single diver trying to deplete 9 miles of coastline without a local market large enough to consume that much fish.
Yes, the ban is on the possession of spearfishing equipment along with SCUBA gear. However, as one of the DLNR Board members said, they want to try this to see if things change. No one in the DLNR has ever determined how many SCUBA/spearfishers there are in West Hawaii. What's very concerning is that if the number of observed fish don't increase over a given time, then they could decide to ban something else. And that would be all spearing.
As a diver and fisher men from Hawaii i am blessed to be out in the ocean and do something that my ohana has been doing for many generations, and to see a ban on a cultural tradition gives me mixed emotions cause we need to preserve fish for futher generations especially those who are Hawaiian and been doing this for years but at the same time we should be able to practice fishing tradition in a respectful way, like only getting fish to feed our family not the freezer
Carl does surround akule, but only a small portion of what's there. I've seen what he does from the air. There are lots of akule schools that can't be touched due to conditions on the bottom, surge, depth, etc. The ones he surrounds sometimes happens to be the schools that people can see, so the impression is that he's taking the one or two schools in existence. The truth is that there's a lot more than people actually suspect. And what also limits his take is the market itself. The fish markets can only sell so much of them at a given time. Carl has also cut schools in half, driving the remaining half toward shoreline fishers. This is something else people on the shoreline can't see. Instead, they think he's taking them all. If you ever get the chance, talk to him. He's got a lot of knowledge about fish and fishery management.
I hope your local government rethinks the ban. It makes no sense to ban spearfishing. What they need to ban are the Japanese huge fishing operations that kill, destroy and waste
Thank you so much for doing this video, which was obviously expensive and difficult to do. Those of us who fish there know that the flooding that occurs at the boat ramp periodically chokes the coral reef with mud from the forest above Puako. It is so thick that you can't run your boat motors after a flood, There is just too much mud in the water. We catch ahi, ono, mahimahi and marlin in front of Puako in 40 fathoms COMMONLY. That looked like a black marlin to me, by the way.
Excellent video brothers. You're absolutely right...it's not the fishing. It's something askew in the enviornment. I'd be looking at the land around the area and see what's washing into the bay.....
Thank you guyz for doing something, Im a spearfisherman and I take only what I eat!
I think the Division of Aquatic Resources is going for a quick, easy, and cheep solution. This die off and contamination of coral seems to coincide with the development of the property just south and next to the boat ramp. The area has been cleared, soil was brought in and grass is planted. large amounts of water and fertilizer are being applied to that property to attract prospective buyers. Puako bay's doesn't have the best circulation so any runoff takes much longer to disperse.
The total reported annual catch (over a period of five years) for speared reef fish in West Hawaii was about $25,000.
That's a daily average of $68.49.
According to statistics from the Div. of Aquatic Resources there is an average of 16 commercial divers in West Hawaii. With 147 miles of coastline, that's an average of 9 miles per diver. Imagine a single diver trying to deplete 9 miles of coastline without a local market large enough to consume that much fish.
Yes, the ban is on the possession of spearfishing equipment along with SCUBA gear. However, as one of the DLNR Board members said, they want to try this to see if things change. No one in the DLNR has ever determined how many SCUBA/spearfishers there are in West Hawaii.
What's very concerning is that if the number of observed fish don't increase over a given time, then they could decide to ban something else. And that would be all spearing.
As a diver and fisher men from Hawaii i am blessed to be out in the ocean and do something that my ohana has been doing for many generations, and to see a ban on a cultural tradition gives me mixed emotions cause we need to preserve fish for futher generations especially those who are Hawaiian and been doing this for years but at the same time we should be able to practice fishing tradition in a respectful way, like only getting fish to feed our family not the freezer
This is for sure an eye opener... but did i miss something? wasn't the ban only on spearfishing with the aid of scuba equipment?
Carl Jellings is the one that surrounds all the schools in the leeward areas
Carl does surround akule, but only a small portion of what's there. I've seen what he does from the air. There are lots of akule schools that can't be touched due to conditions on the bottom, surge, depth, etc. The ones he surrounds sometimes happens to be the schools that people can see, so the impression is that he's taking the one or two schools in existence.
The truth is that there's a lot more than people actually suspect.
And what also limits his take is the market itself. The fish markets can only sell so much of them at a given time.
Carl has also cut schools in half, driving the remaining half toward shoreline fishers. This is something else people on the shoreline can't see. Instead, they think he's taking them all.
If you ever get the chance, talk to him. He's got a lot of knowledge about fish and fishery management.
Thanks, could you answer a simple question for me. What is the life span of the aweoweo? Thanks
I hope your local government rethinks the ban. It makes no sense to ban spearfishing. What they need to ban are the Japanese huge fishing operations that kill, destroy and waste
Adam... Don't know that one. We can ask some biologists.
Malama o ke kai a me na I'a
Auwe