Takabe which have been startled and 

 are seeking shelter around coral 

 heads in about 50 ft of water. 



June when quite small. They swim in dense 

 schools in the midwater area between the sur- 

 face and the coral heads. When startled they 

 seek shelter around the coral, and divers with 

 a special net are required to catch them. 



This bait is very strong and can be carried 

 for long distances at sea and under much more 

 crowded conditions than is possible with the 

 Palauan baitfish, Stolephorus heterolobus . 

 About 10 buckets of takabe were carried from 

 Truk to Palau in 4 days during 1968 with no 

 mortality. 



This bait is not abundant during January, 

 February, March, and April and other species 

 are normally used during this period. Their 

 growth rate is not known; however, as they 

 grow larger they move into deeper water and 

 become more difficult to catch. The larger 

 fish, called akamoro, are not as good a bait as 

 the smaller ones. 



Takabe can be found in abundance in the shoal 

 areas between Dublon, Fefan, Param, Udot, and 



Tol (see map) where most of the prewar baiting 

 operations were carried on. 



FAMILY NAME Apogonidae 



SCIENTIFIC NAME Rhabdamia cypselurus 



TRUKESE NAME S i pu 



PALAUAN NAME Sebus Ibad 



OKINAWAN NAME Akaesa 



ENGLISH NAME Cardinalfish 



This is reported to be an excellent baitfish 

 and considered second only to takabe. It forms 

 dense clouds around coral heads and does not 

 swim about in the midwater level, but stays 

 close to or actually within coral heads and 

 coral crevices during daylight hours. This 

 species is taken by divers using the same type 

 of net that is used for catching takabe. Both 

 species live in approximately the same envi- 

 ronment, the difference being that takabe swims 

 in the midwater area between the surface and 



