New Guinea to open soon

[Anonymous]

That's an awesome pic, Steve! For those of us that are clueless, can you describe how to catch a fish by hand like that? I was under the impression they were fast!

Peace,

Chip

 

[clarionreef]

Hi Chip,
I think a lot of the things we hear about collecting is a bit 'off'.
Thats because fish collectors rarely post on the internet.
Catching blue tangs is one of the easiest fish to collect as they hole up in coral heads when pursued.
Feeling safe in doing this for millions of years, they never had to deal with a predator that broke the coral to get them out or poisoned them to get them out.
Poking them in the rear end with your fingers and "catching" them as they come out with a magic...sticky glove as shown....is the simple truth of it.
Poking the fish out into nets is even easier.

Steve

 

[clarionreef]

For years importers complained that without cyanide there would be no blue tangs and angelfish.
Then came the new marinelife groups who said that since fish were so much more difficult to collect with nets, we will have to pay more for netcaught fish.
This helped to de-popularize netcaught fish in the mass marketplace and made it seem a highly skilled, elitist thing to do.
Elite, eclectic things fill a small niche in the marketplace and would doom the chances for success in the general market world.

Netcaught fish should be worth a fair market value...and non netcaught fishes less.
However, since netcaught fish are a renewable resource and poisoned fish are not....netcaught fishes can be collected in far greater numbers over a multi-year period.
By not killing the coral, more fish are generated and return year after year....near by and requiring less gasoline to travel afar.

Nets are the natural way to collect fishes...not the other stuff. If you hook poor people on the other stuff...it seems hard at first to wean off it...like french fries, cigarrettes and alcohol.
Good habits can be learned as well as bad habits.
Steve

 

[spawner]

Hello people,
I am working with a consulting group called Eco EZ. EcoEZ consults for the National Fisheries Authority of Papua New Guinea. [ ie the government itself]
This place has the greatest biomass of healthy coral reef in the world and the greatest species diversity. It has blue tangs living straight out in front of its largest city and busiest harbor.

IT IS FULL OF PERCULA CLOWNS, WHITE BONNET CLOWNS, MAJESTIC , IMPERATOR AND SCRIBBLED ANGELS, FLAME ANGELS, YELLOW ASSESSOR GOBIES, NEW DAMSELS, BILLIONS OF OLD DAMSELS, GOBIES AND BLENNIES THAT TAKE ALL NIGHT TO KEY OUT AND NEW SPECIES BEING REGARDED AS WE SPEAK.

We have been here for 8 months now surveying the reefs and have already finished the initial report to the National Fisheries Authority of the government of Papua New Guinea.
As a result, we were just funded for the training mission and all systems are go!

Whatever you may have heard about reform projects and net training before....bear in mind that this time professional, career fish people are in charge of the project design, the training and initial industry development.
We are not what has gone before.
We are something else entirely.
The open door policy, the transparency, the deep experience, the leadership, the seasoned training team and the bottom up, field oriented methodology is refreshing and exciting to be a part of.

New Guinea will be what the Philippines and Indonesia can not be anytime soon...100% NETCAUGHT...and patterned after the Australian model...

There are no cyanide fishes to be confused and mixed in with.
This is the beginning.
The Philippines had a beginning in 1960....
Indonesia in 1978...
Now its our turn...PNG...2008! The run up towards production may last a few more months but shoud happen by spring.
If you have any questions...fire away.
Sincerely, Steve Robinson
Eco EZ Inc program
National Fishery Authority
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Steve,

Great news, any chance you can help me out with some shrimp I'm looking for. I'm sure there are tons of new species there that I would love to get a hold of. I'm really looking for Lysmata and a few other related genera. Hope things go well. Gresham told me that it was opening up soon.

Best

andy

 

[clarionreef]

Andy et al.
I certainly appreciate the market response, but we are still in the surveying, training and consulting to develop phases right now.
Steve
[ I will tell the guys in the team to look out for more lysmata species though]
We are still some few months away from some commercial production.

 

[Anonymous]

Good habits can be learned as well as bad habits.

Truer words ne'er spoken.

Thanks for the info on the tang-catching. That's awesome stuff.

Peace,

Chip

 

[clarionreef]

Shark attack on survey team in Papua New Guinea!
See photo!
Steve

 

[clarionreef]

Seriously,
After catching this little epaulette shark [ new species H. Hallstromi] I looked into his eyes and he inhaled my rubber nosepiece and wouldn't let go.
His bite was like vise-grips and I was afraid to pry him off for fear of damaging his mouth. So, I sat in the boat for a few minutes and he fell off.
Steve

 

[clarionreef]

nose ring

 

[Anonymous]

Same shark or different shark?

 

[clarionreef]

Yours is the Milne Bay epaulette w/ no species name yet ...so they call it Hemiscyllium sp.
Its got giraffe spots as opposed to the few large spots of the H. halstrom.
This place has like 4 other epaueltte sp as well. Thy are all viscious beasts with a jaw that measures a full inch across.
Steve

 

[naesco]

Hilarious shots Steve.
Hope you are not collecting them for the trade
Wayne Ryan

 

[clarionreef]

They were all set free of course...[although the larger ones are eaten by some fishers.]
They grow to a skinny 2 feet and breed well in captivity.
Steve

 

[RasBobre]

Hey Steve -

Great "nose" catching techniques.

Hope to see those sharks "NAC" certified soon!

Keep up with your mission my friend.

-Robert

 

[clarionreef]

We found a trove of lacy rhinopias alphanes today in surveying off Moresby...5 in one coral head!
Steve

 

[clarionreef]

closer

 

[clarionreef]

And there are some super perks with this job!
Steve

 

[Anonymous]

Awesome stuff...thanks for the pics!

Peace,

Chip

 

[clarionreef]

Rhinopias found in good numbers by our surveys,
5 under a single coral head shared with 4 RESTING white tip sharks.
Steve

 

[clarionreef]

We found four small size white tip sharks under the same coral head as the 5 rhinopias....
That was some productive coral head....live of course.