724 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



deep, with meshes of three-fourths to 1 inch, are attached to each side of the mouth 

 of the bag. Floats made from wood of the hau tree, which is very light, are strung 

 along the upper line of the wings and the bag, and leads are attached to the bottom 

 line. The end of the bag is generally open when on shore, but is tied with a piece 

 of twine before being put overboard; the fiyh are removed from the bag at this end. 

 The nets are made of manila hemp, whicli costs |l.ii5 per pound, and 9 pounds are 

 required to make a net of the above dimensions. Cotton twine also is used at times. 

 Sections of rope from 15 to 20 fathoms in length, fastened together with hook and 

 loop, and having the dried leaves of the ki plant braided on them l)y the stems, the 

 blade ends of the leaves hanging loose and free, are taken out along with the net. 

 The sections of rope are joined together, and men taking hold of each end and moving 

 in opposite directions begin to make a sweeping circle. Others follow to keep the 

 rope near the bottom, and when it catches on rocks or coral dive down and release it. 

 When the men holding the ends of the line meet, one steps over the line of the other, 

 and so they keep on going round and round, gradually narrowing the circle until it 

 has become sufficiently small. In the meantime the various sections of rope not 

 needed are unhooked piece hj piece and allowed to float on the surface. The bag 

 net is then taken out of the canoe and attached to the ends of two of the sections. 

 The men continue narrowing the circle until the fish are all driven into the bag, which 

 is then closed up, lifted into a canoe brought up for the purpose, the string holding 

 the point of the bag untied, and the iish allowed to drop into the bottom of the boat. 



A variation of the above net, but on a larger scale, has been invented by Mr. E. H. 

 Bailey, of Kahului, Maui. A smooth spot of bottom, inside of the reef, in a fairly 

 shallow place, is selected for placing the net, which is the same as described above, 

 except that it has a net platform in front, attached to the mouth of the bag and also 

 to the wings. Two lines of ki leaves are put together so as to make them thicker 

 and thus more effective. Buoys are attached to the rope by means of short lines, 

 and the ropes sunk by leads until the tips of the leaves just scrape the reef. The 

 ropes are run out in a half circle and then pulled over the reef, after which the ends 

 are swung around until thej- encircle the bag. The ropes are then carried round and 

 round until all of the fish are over the platform, when the latter is raised up and the 

 fish forced back into the bag. As soon as the platform reaches the surface the ropes 

 are withdrawn. The canoes then form a triangle and the mouth of the bag is drawn 

 up between them and the fish taken out with dip nets. 



Opelu nets (upena aai-opelu) are arranged on two half-hoops connected at each end; 

 the hoops lap over each other and are tied together so as to keep the bag open when 

 in the water. A rope runs from each of these and meets a short distance above the 

 bag, from which junction there is only one rope. The bag itself is very deep, 

 usually about 40 feet, with a diameter of about 12 feet at the mouth and tapering 

 slightly at the bottom, and is made of imported flax, so as to be as light as possible. 

 When operated the bag is taken out in a canoe and lowered into about 8 fathoms of 

 water. Bait, composed of cooked squash or pumpkin, small ground-up fish mixed 

 with sand, and cooked papaia and bananas mashed up fine, is dropped into or over 

 the bag. When the fish are gathered over and in the bag it is carefully and rapidlv 

 drawn up, and when it reaches the surface the ropes on the side are unloosed and the 



