the Tradewind reacted favorably i^en thrown as chum except when weak 

 and injured mullet (which tended to swim away from the vessel) were 

 usedo The largo-mullet are not desirable as bait because they too 

 tend to swim away from the vessels This bait fish has been used suc- 

 cessfully to catch tuna on many occasions and is importsuit in the 

 vicinity of the Line and Phoenix islands because it occurs there in 

 fair to large quantities. Mo longimanus and Mo vaigiensis are the 

 most common species of mull'et caught at the LTne and Phoenix islands o 

 These species have not been reported from either the main or leeward 

 Hawaiian Islands, The most common species of mullet caught at the 

 main and leeward Hawaiian Islands are the Mo cephalus and N„ chaptaliio 

 Mullet are available at the leeward islandTj "Kit they are "of no impor- 

 tance there because of the greater availability of other more desirable 

 species of baito They are not used in the Hawaiian live-bait fishery 

 because of their high market value o The mullets are relatively hardy 

 and can stand long-distance transportation. They can be caught readily 

 by the use of beach seines during the daylight hours. 



The smaller individuals of the goatfish family ( Mullidae )^ 

 especially of the genus TJu 1 1 o i d i c h thys ^ have been used as chum whenever 

 available. It is characteristically a shallow-water fish which feeds 

 on organic material that it stirs up from the bottom iwith its barbelSo 

 The weke , as the Hawaiians call it^ is usually bright in coloro At 

 times it occurs in fair quantities along the beaches of most of the 

 leeward Hawaiian Islands, and in the Line and Phoenix area. In Hawaii 

 the weke is not used as chum becausep like the mullets, it has a good 

 market value. The reports on the behavior of the weke when used as 

 chum in tuna fishing are conflicting. Some observers report that they 

 school properly on the surface around the vessel ^ while others report 

 that they sound. If sounding is the typical behavior of the wekCp 

 it will be of only limited use in live-bait fishing. This fish is 

 relatively hardy and can stand long-distance transportation. It is 

 caught during the day by the use of beach seines. 



The top minnows (Mollienesia sp,) have been used as tuna 

 bait by the iiawaiian fishermen in times of shortage of the more 

 desirable bait fish such as the nehu and iao o The top minnows (also 

 known as "mollies") are small fishes v*iich occur in fair quajitities 

 in the streams and estuaries of some of the main Hawaiian Islands^ 

 where they are caught with seines. These fish were originally in^tro- 

 duced into Hawaii from the Americsm mainland to combat mosquitoes. 

 The mollies are not an ideal tuna bait because of their tendency to 

 sound when thrown into the water as chum, 



THE BAIT RESOURCES 



The bait resources of the main Hawaiian Islands appear to 

 be fully exploited by the present commercial fleet. In 1950, a 

 fairly typical year,, 27 live-bait pole-and~line sampans caught 

 approximately 42,000 buckets of bait. Probably more would have been 



