Filed under: Learning, Paddling, Scuba Diving, Oceania, French Polynesia
Fakarava Atoll, the Tuamotus, French Polynesia - Maru's 16-foot, plywood fishing boat, steered by one metal rod coming straight out of the floorboards in his left hand and accelerated by another rod held tightly in his right hand, hugs the eastern edge of Passe Garuae. One of only two passes accessing the atoll's thirty-six-by-twenty-one mile lagoon, twice day big water rushes either in or out and navigation requires years of experience.As we try to edge our way out onto the South Pacific for a day of fishing, currents at the heart of the pass are running out at about seven knots, creating what appear to be standing riptides. If we were anywhere near the center, we'd most likely be cart wheeled by the fast-moving water and big waves.
Maru, a 46-year-old native of Fakarava - the Tuamotus' second-largest atoll - has driven boats through here thousands of time, so far without incident. I'm hoping his luck stays.
Despite a population of about 700 on this remote atoll 150 miles north and east of Tahiti, there are surprisingly few people making a living off fishing. It's not because there aren't fish, but because the big industry here - black pearls-has become more lucrative and in some respects easier. Though the boom in the growing of black pearls has weakened the industry a bit in recent years by flooding the market - every Polynesian with access to the ocean wants in on the business - it doesn't require risking life and limb on the open ocean everyday.
Maru tells me he prefers this life than the more intensive routine of seeding oysters and monitoring them for more than a year and a half, hoping they'll produce pearls. His days are routine, leaving from the docks of Fakarava's one town around six and returning by two or three in the afternoon. His catch provides the bulk of the fresh fish for the atoll's residents. This day he'll take a dozen big mahi-mahi, spearing them from his boat while simultaneously steering and accelerating. He surveys for signs of a small school - watching for the big fish to break the surface - and then chases them down, tiring them. It requires a skill-set few Westerners can imagine: Steering, accelerating, scouting and spearing, all with only two hands.
Continue reading Fishing in the French Polynesian waters
Fishing in the French Polynesian waters originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 27 May 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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