COMMERCIAL FISHERIES OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 413 
especially destructive feature of this style of fishing is the number 
of young fishes killed. This method of fishing is prohibited by law, 
but very little attention is paid to this enactment, as nobody seems to 
bother about enforcing it. 
. 
POISONING. 
The law also prohibits the catching of fish by means of stupefying 
drugs and plants placed in the water. This is called by the natives 
‘**hola hola,” and is still practiced in many places. 
The ahuhu (Cracca purpurea), a poisonous weed which grows on 
the mountain side, is the one generally employed in this fishing. It is 
gathered and pounded up with sand; the sand is to make it heavier so 
that it will sink in water. All over the reefs, running a short distance 
from and generally parallel to the shore, are numerous caves, holes, 
ete., which form the habitat of many species of fishes. The fishermen 
take along a small seine anda quantity of the poisonous mixture in one 
of their canoes. When they arrive at a suitable spot the seine is put 
into the water and run around the mouth of a cave, or, in the case of an 
isolated rock, completely around it. This is to prevent the fish from 
escaping. The fishermen then place some of the mixture into a small 
bag, and, diving down to the bottom, flirt some of it into the holes. 
In about ten or fifteen minutes the fish seem to become stupefied and 
rise to the surface and are lifted into the canoe by means of small 
scoop nets. They soon recover from the effects of the drug if allowed 
to remain in water. 
The seeds and leaves of the shrub akia (Diplomorpha sandwicensis) 
are also used for the same purpose. 
WEIRS. 
While weirs are not of commercial importance in these islands, some 
are used in the mountain streams during the rainy season for taking 
the oopu, a small fresh-water goby found mostly in these streams, 
the catch being consumed principally by the fishermen and their fami- 
lies. During the dry season a platform of large logs, placed side by 
side, is built and placed in the stream at about or just above high- 
water mark. During the rainy season the streams get very full and 
the water becomes so muddy with the wash from the sloping ground 
adjoining the banks that the oopus, who make their homes in water 
holes, under large rocks, etc., are driven out and carried downstream 
by the hurrying waters. As the oopus do not like muddy water, they 
endeavor to keep in the surface water, which is comparatively clear, 
and are thus swept in immense quantities onto the platform, and from 
there into a ditch leading out to a plain, where they are gathered up 
in large quantities. At this season of the year the oopus are highly 
prized by the natives, as they havea very delicate flavor. This method 
of fishing is practiced mainly on the islands of Oahu and Kauai. 
