I have encountered many a strange fish in my time in the Marovo Lagoon. Most of my learning has come through the pursuit of trying to catch dinner. Admittedly, recreational fishing has always been a personal hobby of mine, but living in the Marovo, without the availability of supermarkets and fishing co-operatives, has forced me to re-think my ‘western’ approach to fishing. In this series I will describe a few of my favourite varieties under the categories of : the good, the bad and the ugly.
The Good
The Marovo Lagoon is essentially one big shallow pond. Within this pond, there are species that I consider to be ‘ihana hokara’, roughly translated as ‘real/proper fish that you don’t need to eat anything with’. These fish are by no means easy to catch, but are clean fighters and relatively predictable, once you understand how they interact within the Marovo ecosystem.
The Silver backed and Blue Trevally
I have grouped these two species together because they share many similarities. Both take bait (bonito, squid and mussel) eagerly during the first and last quarters of the lunar month. Catching and storing bait can be tricky, however, so it is good to have contingency plans in place. Because both species spend most of their time within the lagoon, they are pretty easy to locate when feeding. This is because Silver Travally congregate in large predatory schools and are always eagerly followed by frigates and sea gulls. The most successful method I have found is to either trawl minnow lures or plastic squids slowly around the outskirts of the feeding frenzy. I had considerable trouble keeping up with the action when I was paddling my trusty canoe Mungiki Vua, so instead I found drop offs in the reef and employed the Marovo technique of strike-line. Strike-line consists of dropping four to five silver hooks, decorated with feathers and straws, to the bottom of the ocean then jigging them back up. It can be a tiresome and repetitive form of fishing, but is essentially free and good exercise. I have given up trying to spear Travally in feeding frenzies as they are too quick and I have developed a bit of phobia of swimming in open water.
The Coral Trout (panjara)
There are over twenty different coral trout varieties that inhabit the Marovo Lagoon. I consider them to be the best eating fish, but many locals don’t like their soft flesh. As a result of experiencing food poisoning on a number of occasions, I have deducted that coral trout don’t keep very well (without ice of course). Most coral trout live on the ocean-facing reefs and barrier reef passages, but some smaller fish live in the estuaries and mangroves. The square tail coral trout is the most common out of all the varieties and can be identified by its darkish skin with blue dots, which fade away when the fish dies. It forms regular and predictable large spawning aggregations in certain barrier reef passages from February to May. This is the best time to spear the square tails as they come up from the depths to breed. They have the reputation as a playful fish that plays ‘hide and go seek’ when you are diving. When spearfishing, you will miss if you do not shoot immediately. The square tail is also a greedy fish that will attack anything that swims close to their rock shelters. Trawling minnows close to the reef’s edge is a good technique that is fraught with inevitable tackle losses.
Bonito (mackerel tuna, skipjack tuna)
The bonito is a very sacred fish in the traditions of Marovo culture. Fishermen call it ihana kubekubere, which means fish with written markings. They play a central part to the ecosystem as both predator and prey. They have somewhat schizophrenic personalities that is probably derived from the endless list of species, humans included, trying to eat it. Bonito arrive in schools off the Marovo barrier reef in December and January, especially during the first seven and last few days of the lunar month. Smaller schools, however, may appear in any month. In my opinion they are the most fun to catch on a rod, but hand-lines work just as good as long as you have gloves. When fishing for Bonito, gauging the average fish size and choosing a suitable hook and lure/squid is most important. It has been my experience that bigger Bonito don’t touch the smaller lures and visa versa.
Snapper et al.
People in the Marovo will call almost any reddish fish caught in deep water a snapper or a Dovaro. This is most confusing when you are trying to categorise fish families and species. I have learnt that when they say snapper they can also mean jobfish, sweetlip, redbass, red emperor and mangrove jack. Interestingly enough, all of these fish do come under the snapper family. Generally, all of these fish, perhaps excluding the mangrove jack, reside deep along the outer reef drop-off (sometimes at depths of more than 200 metres). The locals use deep water handlines with detachable stone sinkers. I find it hard to balance getting to the bottom and feeling what you are doing. No-one really knows much about their breeding times or movements.
In Australia, these fish are referred to as ‘mother-in-law fish’. I don’t really know why that is. They have a red spangled throat so they are related to the sweetlip somehow.
solomontime 