246 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



and there be watches and waits for tlio fisli. Fish in only two positions 

 are noticed by him, those passing- before and parallel to him, and those 

 coming- straight towards his face. When the hsh is hit, the force of the 

 blow generally carries the spear right through to the hand, thus bringing 

 the fish up to the lower i)art or handle of the spear, where it remains 

 while the fisherman strikes rapidly at other fish in succession should 

 they come in a train, as they usually do. 



Except in the case of "oopuhue"' spearing, above- water spearing is 

 very rarely used, and then generally in connection with deep-sea line- 

 and-hook fishing. ''Oopuhue" is the well-known jmison fish of the 

 Pacific, but is of a delicious flavor. It is generally speared in inclosed 

 salt water ponds from the stone embankments. The poison of this fish 

 is contained in three little sacs, which must be extracted whole and un- 

 injured. The fish is first skinned, as the rough skin is also poisonous 

 in a slight degree. Should the teeth of the fish be yellow, then it is so 

 highly charged with poison that no part of its flesh is safe even with 

 the most careful preparation. "Oopuhue" caught in the open sea are 

 always more poisonous than those from fish ponds. 



Some fishermen dive to well-known habitats of certain fish and lob- 

 sters and, thrusting- their arms under rocks or in holes, bring out the 

 fish one by one and put them into a bag attached for the purpose to 

 the loin cloth. Women frequently- do the same in shallow waters, and 

 catch fish by hand from under coral projections. It is also a favorite 

 method employed by women in the capture of the larger varieties of 

 shrimps and "oopus" in the fresh-water streams and "kalo" ponds.- 

 Goldfish are also caught in that way, and at the present time form no 

 inconsiderable portion of the daily food of the poorer classes living 

 near "kalo " patches or fresh-water ponds. Their power of reproduction 

 is very great. The different kinds of edible sea-slugs are caught in the 

 same way, although the larger kinds are sometimes dived for and 

 speared under water. 



There are two ways of octopus fishing. In shallow water the spear is 

 used. Women generally attend to this. Their practiced eye can tell 

 if an octopus is in a hole whose entrance is no larger than a silver dollar, 

 and plunging their spears in they invariably draw one out. These 

 mollusks have the peculiar property of drawing themselves out and 

 compressing their bodies so as to ])ass through very narrow apertures 

 many times smaller than the natural size or thickness of their bodies. 

 Those caught in shallow waters vary from I'^to 4 feet in length, but the 

 larger ki)uls live in deep water always and are known as blue-water 

 octopus. 



They are caught witti cowries of the Mauritiana and sometimes 

 of the tiger species. One or more of these shells i« attached to a 

 string with an oblong pebble on the face of the shell; a hole is pierced 

 in one end of the back of one of the shells through which the line is 

 passed, which, having been fastened, is allowed to i)roject a few inches 



