freshwater fishing

[mikev8]

any local freshwater fishing in the puna area or close by?

[Carey]

Puna has intermitant streams, and very few lakes....
There are some ancaline ponds in Puna & up in Hilo districts.

[Rob Tucker]

Basically the answer is no unless you drop a hook in a private fish pond. The ground here is way to pourous to provide us with dependable streams much less lakes. Only two lakes on the island. One is alpine and protected and the other is private, small and in a caldera.

[David D]

As kids, we used to catch crayfish in some of the small steams. The only "wild" fresh water fish I can recall were guppies and swordtails. You'd have to catch a whole lot to make a meal!

David D

[Carey]

Field surveys in a couple of the perennial streams in South Hilo normally come up with five endemic species, three of which were ‘o’opu (goby) fish, plus the hihiwai snail and the opae shrimp. These are on the protected species list & are the main reason why hydroelectric power in Hawaii may never be added onto (unless there are more accurate stream flow models designed for Hawaii). There are also one to five alien species normally noted.

[Hotzcatz]

There is freshwater fishing in the Wailoa River in Hilo but you have to get a fishing license and you can't use a gas engine if you use a boat. I think they catch mullet and there's probably some other species in there but I'm not sure what. I have seen a fellow shooting fishes with a bow and arrow with a line attached to the arrow from one of the bridges across the Wailoa. He was shooting ocean fishes which came in with the tide, though, I think.

[Fishboy]

quote:

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Originally posted by Carey

Field surveys in a couple of the perennial streams in South Hilo normally come up with five endemic species, three of which were ‘o’opu (goby) fish, plus the hihiwai snail and the opae shrimp. These are on the protected species list & are the main reason why hydroelectric power in Hawaii may never be added onto (unless there are more accurate stream flow models designed for Hawaii). There are also one to five alien species normally noted.

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Carey,
Very interesting and my curiosity is piqued.

Which protected species list; state or federal?

Hydro power!? Would this be something like a Pelton Wheel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelton_wheel), or something more elaborate?

What freshwater species are the five introduced?


Mahalo nui loa,
Brian and Mary
Lynnwood, WA\Discovery Harbour

[Carey]

'O'opu hi'ukole was listed as a Candidate species on the Federal Register, and is considered 'threatened' by the American Fisheries Society (AFS). 'O'opu nakea and 'o'opu nopili were considered to be species of special concern by the AFS.
The hihhiwai, native shrimp, has been impacted by alien speices that have reduced its populations, but it still survives in many places. Reintroduction efforts are now ongoing in some rivers.
Opae snails are still fairly abundant. Native Hawaiian rights to opae is protected.
The surveys I have studied have been for EIS reports, so alien species are not of interest, other than noting their presences, there is no determination of the species found. (from the little bit of field work I have done on the streams, Koi, swordtails & mullet fingerlings, but I have heard that some streams even have introduced trout... The unique nature of the streams on this island make it harder for many freshwater fish to have complete lifecycles, but there are some that do.)
There are 3 Hydroelectric power plants on the Wailuku, the only public hydro power on island (and the only non-fossil fuel power generation by HELCO). The last plant was put online in the early 1990’s, it was during the late stage EIS investigation of a sister plant on Honolii Stream that questions on the adequacy of stream modeling data sent the EIS to the State Supreme Court. The EIS was turned down due to the presence of ‘o’opu.
DLNR link to freshwater species:
http://hawaii.gov/dlnr/dar/streams/stream_natives.htm

[Fishboy]

Very interesting, Carey, you're teaching me so much and I really appreciate it. I've got a ton of questions, but I'll settle for just a couple:

I Googled o'opu and see that there are five species in the genus. That there are genera and species with Hawaiian names is what struck me as most interesting. What's the derivation of the Hawaiian names?

I've never heard of an EIS being "turned down". Was this a NEPA EIS? The NEPA process can't (usually) be completed until the Endangered Species Act process is complete, but a candidate species would not usually get mention in the ESA Biological Assessment. So do you mean the Record of Decision was not signed, or was the project withdrawn due to the presence of o'opu? I'm also curious which agency sponsored the EIS?

Sorry for all the questions, and I apologize to others on this forum who likely don't follow these acronyms, but this is a very important process for all Hawaiians. This is what I do, and I'm really really interested.



Mahalo nui loa,
Brian and Mary
Lynnwood, WA\Discovery Harbour

[Carey]

Four of the five 'o'opu found in Hawaii are endemic (found only in Hawaii), I think that is the main reason they have Hawaiian derivation Scientific names....
EIS info from I report I did on the Honoli'i EIS:
" Public opposition to the Honoli’i Hydroelectric Power Plant project arose on March 9, 1989 at the Board of Land and Natural Resources public hearing in Hilo [the final public hearing]. Community members at this meeting were concerned that Mauna Kea Power had not performed “Instream Flow Incremental Method” (IFIM) modeling of the stream flow to determine the conservation flow rate of ten cubic feet per second. Mauna Kea had requested the need for the modeling in the scooping phase of the Environmental Impact Statement. After this meeting, the Land Board granted three separate petitions for contested case hearings on July 13, 1989. After the contested case hearing, Hawaii County Economic Opportunity Council asked the Hawaii County Council for help because “credible studies have not validated the contention that there will be no adverse impacts on the environment and surfing.”
In response to the concerns voiced at these hearings, the County of Hawai’i issued the “Impact of Mauna Kea Power Company’s Proposed Hydroelectric Power Plant on Honoli’i Beach Park” on Nov. 24, 1989. This report addressed the community concerns on the potential impacts to the wildlife and change in the surfing beach at Honoli’i Beach Park. The report showed that the county had high interest in the project. There were concerns that the modeling techniques used in the IFIM models would be lengthy, expensive and would not give results that were based on stream conditions on Hawai’i Island. The County of Hawai’i recommended a stream flow study should be done by the Look Laboratory of Oceanographic Engineering, a research branch of the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, to calculate the effects of the requested conservation flow rate of ten cubic feet per second.
The Board of Land and Natural Resources denied the [DLNR] applicant request on December 1, 1989. On October 7, 1991, the Circuit Court of Hawaii affirmed the Board of Land and Natural Resources decision to deny the applicant project. On May 24, 1994, the Hawaii Supreme Court affirmed the Circuit Court decision that affirmed the Board of Land and Natural Resources decision to deny the applicant project."