Somebody fishing where I was snorkling in Hawaii.

[CookieRdReef]

So I just returned from Kauai a couple of days ago. While there my 7 and 9 year old boys and I enjoyed some snorkling at the recommended spots when the weather cooperated. Hawaii is great for seeing a ton of reef fish close to shore in many spots.

When I was snorkling at a place called Salt Ponds, some kid starts casting out pretty close to where I was. In that area I saw at least 5+ different species of tangs, picasso triggers, wrasse, goatfish, moorish idols, cool stuff. I spoke with a local on the beach and asked about what the kid was trying to catch explaining I keep some of these fish like the tangs, triggers wrasse. He said any of that little stuff they catch they usually just fry up of its big enough. Good god man! He was quite suprised to hear what a yellow tang or achilles tang would go for at our LFSs. I know people eat reef fish around the world, but I may have ruined eating anything small and colorful for this guy forever.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

So I just returned from Kauai a couple of days ago. While there my 7 and 9 year old boys and I enjoyed some snorkling at the recommended spots when the weather cooperated. Hawaii is great for seeing a ton of reef fish close to shore in many spots.

When I was snorkling at a place called Salt Ponds, some kid starts casting out pretty close to where I was. In that area I saw at least 5+ different species of tangs, picasso triggers, wrasse, goatfish, moorish idols, cool stuff. I spoke with a local on the beach and asked about what the kid was trying to catch explaining I keep some of these fish like the tangs, triggers wrasse. He said any of that little stuff they catch they usually just fry up of its big enough. Good god man! He was quite suprised to hear what a yellow tang or achilles tang would go for at our LFSs. I know people eat reef fish around the world, but I may have ruined eating anything small and colorful for this guy forever.

It would be so odd for me to eat a fish that I normally see in reef tanks.

 

[KStatefan]

From a blog from a few years ago.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

From a blog from a few years ago.

View attachment 3025317

Wow, that's crazy. That is so many fish just in that one ice chest

 

[CookieRdReef]

Wow, that's crazy. That is so many fish just in that one ice chest

I felt like the crazy one telling the guy how much money I spend on these fish. To most of the world they are pretty, but just fish.

 

[Petcrazyson]

know people eat reef fish around the world, but I may have ruined eating anything small and colorful for this guy forever.

Don’t think the guy will eat any fish anymore…..

 

[Fish Styx]

A buddy of mine that I served with in the army is a native Hawaiian. I had posted a pic on my FB page awhile back showing a new tang I had added to my system and he commented, "they're delicious". lol

 

[Aluco]

Hmm how does that work with the ban? Is it OK to catch ornamentals for food but not for the hobby?

 

[CookieRdReef]

As we were leaving 2 guys that were spearfishing further from shore than came out of the water with what looked like a 3+ foot long baracudda. The group they were with had a bbq going. I asked they guy what he was trying to get and he said ahi and the big parrotfish are good to eat but he didnt see any.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Hmm how does that work with the ban? Is it OK to catch ornamentals for food but not for the hobby?

I think it's more of a ban on catching the fish to sell them for aquariums/ reef tanks, but to catch and eat I think it's ok. I could be wrong about this though

 

[CookieRdReef]

Hmm how does that work with the ban? Is it OK to catch ornamentals for food but not for the hobby?

I told one of the guys about the trade ban. He had no idea, I dont imagine the average Hawiiam cares. I dont think it applies to fishing. I also have never seen any fish and game officials around in Hawaii but Im sure they have them.

 

[Fish Styx]

I think it's more of a ban on catching the fish to sell them for aquariums/ reef tanks, but to catch and eat I think it's ok. I could be wrong about this though

Yup, you are right. Most native Hawaiians live in abject poverty and rely heavily on subsistence fishing to feed their families. If the state tried to pass a ban on fishing in general, there would be riots.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Yup, you are right. Most native Hawaiians live in abject poverty and rely heavily on subsistence fishing to feed their families. If the state tried to pass a ban on fishing in general, there would be riots.

If they banned fish being caught in general? I could imagine a vast black market scene of selling these fish for crazy prices just to residents down there would have something to eat. Plus the regulation for making sure people couldn't catch fish would be so hard too.

 

[Rusty_L_Shackleford]

So i spent 8 years in hawaii and my wife grew up there. Maybe i can shed some light here. Ive definitely eaten my share of reef fish (yes, even after having reef tNks for years). No different than eating fish i catch on the mainland. Its just whats available. The fish arent expensive because theyre necessarily rare and hard to catch (some are). Catching a few tangs isnt difficult. Ive caught them with hook and line and spear gun. Netting then is harder bur dooable. The difficulty is keeping them alive and transporting them. That part isnt cheap, And every step along the way gets a cut of profit. And there are for sure plenty of losses along the way. Some guy catches the fish. He has to keep it alive on his boat or containers on the beach or whatever until he has enough to take to his holding facility or more likely sells them to someone who has a holding faculity. Where it gets sold to an exporter, who ships it to a distrubtion hub like LA where it goes to the wholesalers, etc. There are a lot of steps in the chain getting that fish to your lfs and every one of those steps.

Catching fish is one thing, keeping then alive while transporting them to the other side of the globe is another thing entirely.

 

[Rusty_L_Shackleford]

I told one of the guys about the trade ban. He had no idea, I dont imagine the average Hawiiam cares. I dont think it applies to fishing. I also have never seen any fish and game officials around in Hawaii but Im sure they have them.

Having recently moved from hawaii, it does not. Recreational or substinance fishing is not covered by the aquarium trade. You need a special permit to do aquarium collecting. And yeap, ive run into DLNR (department of land and natural resources). And hawaii like anywhere else has size and species restrictions, designated seasons for certain things, regs on what type and number of equipment you can have etc. They typically arent gonna bother a guy at the beach with a couple of poles and a cooler slthough theyll ocassionally check catches at popular crowded fishing spots. Catching dinner and aquarium collecting are wildly different thing, and the ban didnt affect the average person one bit.

 

[vetteguy53081]

It was like me diving and seeing schools of fish and envisioning what I pay for them wholesale for my LFS
Then going on a fishing excursion and they are cooking queen triggers and groupers and snappers as they get caught

 

[CookieRdReef]

So i spent 8 years in hawaii and my wife grew up there. Maybe i can shed some light here. Ive definitely eaten my share of reef fish (yes, even after having reef tNks for years). No different than eating fish i catch on the mainland. Its just whats available. The fish arent expensive because theyre necessarily rare and hard to catch (some are). Catching a few tangs isnt difficult. Ive caught them with hook and line and spear gun. Netting then is harder bur dooable. The difficulty is keeping them alive and transporting them. That part isnt cheap, And every step along the way gets a cut of profit. And there are for sure plenty of losses along the way. Some guy catches the fish. He has to keep it alive on his boat or containers on the beach or whatever until he has enough to take to his holding facility or more likely sells them to someone who has a holding faculity. Where it gets sold to an exporter, who ships it to a distrubtion hub like LA where it goes to the wholesalers, etc. There are a lot of steps in the chain getting that fish to your lfs and every one of those steps.

Catching fish is one thing, keeping then alive while transporting them to the other side of the globe is another thing entirely.

Snorkling there you realize the majority of our Hawaiian aquarium fish are not at all rare in many spots. Yes keeping them alive and shipped here is what we pay for, not their rarity in most occasions.

 

[Rusty_L_Shackleford]

Snorkling there you realize the majority of our Hawaiian aquarium fish are not at all rare in many spots. Yes keeping them alive and shipped here is what we pay for, not their rarity in most occasions.

Exactly. Where i lived, morish idols, humu triggers, naso, vlamingi, convict tangs, wrasses of all types were EVERYWHERE. Just hanging out by the boat ramp. Tide pools full of coral banded shrimp, etc. Moray eels are a nusiance. The small ones at leasy make good bait. Sure that big naso might be work $300 in an lfs on the east coast where i live now, but getting it there alive and healthy is an enormous undertaking. To someone living there, its worth more as dinner. My friends told me about catching seahorses in the canal as kids to sell to pet stores for $5 so they haf money for snacms at 7-11. These fish are only exotic if you dont see them all the time. I send friends there pictures of me reguarly catching 10-15 lb catfish behind my house, and its exciting snd exotic to them.

 

[fishybizzness]

I have a saltwater aquarium but I live in the Caribbean and go fishing regularly and eat reef fish I catch. Been doing it my whole life and will for the rest of my life. Eating reef fish is part of my culture. There is really nothing strange about eating reef fish, it's what's for dinner! Lol

 

[billyocean]

Wow, that's crazy. That is so many fish just in that one ice chest

Tangs should have an ice chest at least 3 times that size.