KAPA‘A — Between them, Kevin Sakuda and Jared Furusho speared 39 fish in the second Kaua‘i Invasive Species Eradication Dive Tournament. Oh, the tally could have been higher, but something came along and claimed some of their catch. “That’s not
KAPA‘A — Between them, Kevin Sakuda and Jared Furusho speared 39 fish in the second Kaua‘i Invasive Species Eradication Dive Tournament.
Oh, the tally could have been higher, but something came along and claimed some of their catch.
“That’s not counting the shark’s share,” Furusho said, laughing.
Despite the arrival of a few six-foot galapagos sharks who wanted in on the action, Sakuda and Furusho didn’t stop diving Saturday as they went after the tasty but disliked, Roi, To‘au and Ta‘ape.
They were joined by 29, two-person dive teams that anted up $100 each and used spearguns to kill as many of those fish as possible during the seven-hour tournament.
The rules were straightforward: 3 points for each Roi, 1 point for the others.
At stake were trophies, but more important, bragging rights.
Last year, 30 teams nailed around 400 fish. Saturday, they eradicated 244 Roi and 173 To’au and Ta’ape, for a total take of 417.
Raquel Kaui, an organizer, said the tournament offers double benefits.
“It helps bring camaraderie between divers and also eradicates invasive species,” she said.
Kalika Wong, event host with Danny DeFries, said the divers faced a tough task. Despite Saturday’s sunny skies, there are always perils in the ocean.
“In conditions like this it’s pretty tough. It’s dirty, the waves, it’s going to be tough,” he said. “It’s challenging, going out there. Spearfishing is a dangerous sport. You can get hurt.”
Divers came away unscathed and later donned black “Eradicator” shirts. After the fish tally, they enjoyed food, drink and music with family and friends near the Kapa‘a boat ramp as they recounted their underwater quest to get Roi.
The Roi, Wong explain, were introduced to Hawai‘i in 1956. They’re good to eat, he said, but a single Roi eats hundreds of reef fish.
“They never thought it would be bad for the reef,” Wong said.
But, turns out, it is.
“Roi spend most of their time in deep caves and cracks in the reef where they prey on other fish like aweoweo, mempachi and ala’ihi,” according to “Terry Lilley’s underwater 2 web” website. “These red cave fish are active at night and sleep in the caves during the day. Since roi did not evolve in Kaua‘i these cave fish do not recognize roi as a predator. These fish will swim right up to a roi to be eaten.”
And that’s bad for the reefs.
The solution? Put Roi at the end of a spear.
“You kill one (Roi), you save 150 (reef fish),” Wong said.
Spencer Haskins and Kaui Brown piled an impressive haul of Roi, To‘au and Ta‘ape on the judges’ table, but their tally wasn’t counted in the tourney since they missed the 2 p.m. deadline.
“It wouldn’t be fair to the guys who came in earlier,” Wong explained.
No problem, Brown said.
“We got in a little late,” he said. “Our fault.”
Sakuda and Furusho headed to the South Shore, where they dove in water about 45-feet deep. They wanted the bigger, dark-colored Roi, since it was worth more points, and got 28 of them.
There is a strategy to their spearing.
“You don’t want to shoot one and cause them to get scared,” Sakuda said. “You want to shoot one and try to shoot the rest of them.”
The Roi, To‘au and Ta‘ape are deep in the rocks and coral, waiting to feast on reef fish, so divers must go to them.
“Basically, they’re looking at you coming down,” Sakuda said.
“The Rois, you can shoot from above,” Furusho said. “The yellow fish, To‘au and Ta‘ape, you pretty much have to be laying on the ground.”
Sakuda said they basically dive-bombed the Rois, which on average weigh around 3-5 pounds and are about 15 inches long.
“You have to be ambush hunting to get the To‘au and Ta‘ape,” Sakuda said.
Sharks made their task a bit uneasy, cruising close and swimming around the floats.
One team reported a tiger shark went after their fish, so divers had to do more than spear fish.
“Look over your shoulder when you’re pulling up a live one,” Furusho said, smiling.
The galapagos sharks, said Sakuda, weren’t too much of worry.
“These are kind of small,” he said. “They’re like six feet.”
He was right. No one was hurt.
“Except the fish,” said Sakuda, who is with Hammerhead Spearguns, a tournament sponsor. “Lots of fish get hurt in this tournament.”
So, anyway, what did they do with all those Roi, To‘au and Ta‘ape?
Ate them, of course. Remember, they’re delicious for dinner.
“Their time on the reef needs to be cut short. Their time on the plate is fine,” Furusho said.
Results of the second Kaua‘i Invasive Species Eradication Dive Tournament
1st place: Mike Hatcher and Shane Cabiles, 127 points (both from Oahu)
2nd place: Kevin Sakuda & Jared Furusho, 95 points (both from Oahu)
3rd place: Derek Yamamoto & Eduardo Gudoy Jr., 70 points (both from Kauai)
4th place: Jon Barretto (Kauai) & Bronson Beyer (Oahu), 55 points
Largest Roi: Hanalei Adric (Oahu) & Calvin Lai (Kona), 4.730 lbs.
Largest To’au: Mosese Masi & Savase Brede (both from Kauai), 2.138 lbs.
