Plenty of fish? Yes and no.
I would like to reply to a letter by Mel Malinowski that appeared in this newspaper a few days ago. He brings up a serious question, although it appears it was not the question he intended. He said: “…This ancient Hawaiian saying applies to the argument about whether we have plenty fish or not. Some are saying yes, some are saying no. How can we know what the true situation is?”
One way is to ask our kupuna. Francis Ruddle has been fishing since he was a little boy at Paniau 70 years ago. Uncle Francis says “for every fish you see now, there were seven before.”
I totally agree that Mr. Ruddle, and Mr. Tomich, whom he also referenced, were right about what they said, although perhaps with some understandable hyperbole. They say there used to be a lot more fish. However, I am virtually certain that these folks were not talking about aquarium fish. They were talking about kaukau fish — that is, food fish, the fish that they and their ancestors relied on.
Mr. Malinoski asks: “… whether we have plenty fish or not. Some are saying yes, some are saying no.”
However, he fails to see that he is talking apples and oranges here. By and large the Hawaiian people did not target the same fish that are sought for aquariums. There are a few exceptions, such as the pakuikui, or the Achilles tang, which is a very good-tasting fish and very beautiful, so it is sought by both fisheries.
So, the answer to his question is the very answer he supplied. Yes and no.
The primary fishes collected for the aquarium trade, yellow tang and kole are now plentiful because of intelligent management. Despite the misinformation a lot of people are spreading around, the indisputable data shows that the populations of the fish most heavily targeted for aquariums are healthy and robust, more abundant in West Hawaii than anywhere else.
However, the fishes that are caught by everyone else, and these are the fishes the kupuna were speaking of, are not plentiful and any fisherman who says otherwise is not facing reality. Achilles tang, among others, is such an example. The situation facing the populations of some of those fish sought for food is very dire, perhaps not as dire as on the other islands but certainly warranting concern. If this situation is to be turned around, this fishery will need to be managed as well.
I know, I know. I can hear the fishermen screaming. But every one of them knows in his heart that something needs to be done. Looking at the incredible turnaround in populations of aquarium fish, I should think that food fishermen would be clamoring for the same opportunity.
I once had a fisherman say to me: “We don’t need regulation. We know how to take care of the fish and the ocean.” And I replied: “Then why aren’t you doing it?” And he had no response.
There are so many factors in why fish populations decline, but the foremost among those is overfishing and habitat alteration. No fisherman wants to admit that he takes too much, and no land owner wants to acknowledge that his practices may be harming our reefs so it is not incomprehensible that they want to blame someone else. It’s clear that all the factors need to be addressed, including that of overfishing so that we can have fish for many years to come.
Tina Owens
Kailua-Kona
Use green waste for energy production
Green waste: The county is drowning in it. We charge haulers tipping fees to dump it. Spend money to grind it into mulch then give away the mulch. The mulch pile is growing, that is why they had to move it from Kealakehe to Puuanahulu.
Let me engage in some heresy here. Recycling is good, but is not the ultimate goal. There is an ever-growing pile of the stuff. It makes economic sense to use it as an energy source.
Ken Obenski
Kaohe, South Kona