Follow the birds to catch fish
We meet Nga Takaiti at one of the eateries on Punanga Nui Market in Rarotonga, and a few days later he takes us out fishing. Shortly after 5 a.m. we leave from Avana's fishing harbour on the Southside of the island. Nga's standing up at the wheel in a manhole, we are sitting in the back of the boat; it must be some 5 meters long, no more, and has two multiple horsepower outboard motors that pull it fast through the treacherous currents in the passage between the lagoon and the sea.
Beyond the reef, the bottom sinks to the deep, and Nga can catch big ones even close to shore. It's muscular labor. The fisherman steers, he simultaneously operates four rods with heavy reels, and he mentally counts his gains. He could steer towards one the floating FADs, the fish aggregating devices.
The Fisheries Department of the Cook Islands has left a dozen of them in the sea around Rarotonga. They attract "ocean-going pelagic fish such as marlin, tuna and mahi-mahi (dolphin fish). They usually consist of buoys or floats tethered to the ocean floor with concrete blocks." But with us as passengers Nga prefers to follow the birds. When he sees a flock of birds, Nga turns towards it immediately. The birds prey on the small fry, and small fry attract bigger game.
When a mill starts rattling, the lines roll off and fish have bitten. Regularly, 2 or 3 mills rattle at the same time. Nga pulls in the lines with fish fighting to escape. Then things move quickly. The fisherman hooks the fish, pulls it into the boat and bludgeons it until it gives up fighting. Nga has worked in off-shore finances and as a banker. He constantly makes calculations. A 50-kilogram tuna brings $200 at NZ$40 per kilogram. But if such a fish fights its way off the hook, the fisherman also loses his weight in dollars. Fishing is business is stress, it is written on Nga's face.
