# A good day in the waters.....



## wetpetshawaii (Sep 26, 2007)

WOW...what a day!!! At 160 feet.....on kaena Point in Honolulu Hawaii I was able to catch 4 crosshatch trigger fishes.......1 female and 3 males.....there were a bunch more down there unfortunately time....and air were a factor....these fish have a retail value between $300-$500 ea.I plan on keeping a pair for my tank... I am definately going to return to that dive spot another day......Aloha!!!


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## Guest (Oct 4, 2007)

Can we see some pictures please!! I wish I lived in Hawaii, that would be so great!


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## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

Wow gotta be skilled to be able to catch fish out in the ocean, can't imagine it's a easy task..


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

I believe it illegal to capture fish in Hawaiian waters. Check their laws. Also - it's taboo and bad luck to bring anything home from Hawaii - remember the Brady Bunch episode ? LOL !!!


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

HAHA!
The laws regarding collecting in hawaiian waters are pretty restrictive, yes. Fish can be collected with the proper permits, but no rock and be harvested at all as I understand it.

Since when are those fish worth that much? I suspect they're worth that only in Hawaii where everything costs too much, which is still fine for you, but if you try to sell them online for that much I think you'll be disappointed. Or not. We'll see.

I've collected fish in the open ocean myself a few times, and yes Osiris, it's pretty tricky. Triggers are either very easy or very hard to catch. They either charge after you or swim away with amazing speed. I don't know how these in particular act.


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## CollegeReefer (Sep 1, 2006)

TheOldSalt said:


> HAHA!
> They either charge after you or swim away with amazing speed.


Swim for your lives!:help:


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## Kyoberr (Dec 6, 2006)

I am so jealous! Please post pictures!


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## wetpetshawaii (Sep 26, 2007)

Yes you are right...the laws restrict us to harvest live rock....unless you have a special permit to display for educational purposes....A commercial marine licence allows a diver to catch livestock...but you are required to submit a dive catch report monthly to the state AG office.....as far as the Crosshatch retail prices....that is accurate....super males(XL) go for $500+ the smaller males start at $300 retail. Pricing structure goes like this from diver to Hawaii distributor is $80 then Hawaii distributor to a mainland wholesaler is $120-$140 then  mainland wholesaler to pet retailer $180-$200 so naturally a pet retailer will start his pricing out at $300....Im not selling the ones I caught because it is easier for me to sell it directly to a Pet Retailer here in Hawaii then to ship it out...and I also plan on keeping a pair for myself.....I will post pictures up as soon as I can....thanks....and A hui ho kakou(till we meet again) Also saw a Dragon Morey that day but I wussed out because he was huge and his teeth was'nt gonna touch my skin..ha ha ha


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## wetpetshawaii (Sep 26, 2007)

Crosshatch triggerfish (Xanthicthys mento) tend to not venture far from their reef dwelling they see a diver and will swim into their hole or wedge themselves under the reef....the trick is to gently and cautiously stick your hand or an object into the reef and chase the trigger out into your net...without damaging the reef or the fish.....time spent at that depth(160ft) is only about 20-25 minutes....then you gotta start your assend....if you do successfully catch them it takes hours to slowly bring the fish up to the surface from the boat or the fish will suffer from air bladder problems...some divers pin the fish with a hypodermic needle to release the pressure on the fishes bladder upon asscending...not a good practice as often a fish will suffer from an infection or swollen belly...and die a few days later....thats why this fish cost so much because divers go through great lenghts to get them.....


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## wetpetshawaii (Sep 26, 2007)

some pictures....of the male crosshatch trigger


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## CollegeReefer (Sep 1, 2006)

lol a month later


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## jasno999 (Oct 16, 2006)

I have to say I am jealeous that you get to dive in Hawaii and see this stuff on a regular basis. I would love to be able to do that and live in a place where I could be in the water every day. 

On the other hand I am very dissapointed in you tanking these fish from the water.... You never said if you had the proper permits or not. If not I hope you get caught cause you are doing something illegal and hurting the reef environment. If you do have the proper permits then ok- I just think we need to make sure we keep a close eye on what we take out of the ocean to make sure we don't do something bad....


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## wetpetshawaii (Sep 26, 2007)

thanks for the concern...yes I do have a licence and only take what the state species lists authorize me to do.....if your ever in Hawaii I can take you out diving on my boat....and show you some cool dive spots....sorry for the late pics...guess Im on Hawaiian time...LOL!!!


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## Dr_House (Aug 15, 2006)

> sorry for the late pics...guess Im on Hawaiian time...LOL!!!


LOL - there's just no pleasing some people. That's a great looking fish! I can't imagine catching fish in the open ocean. I usually have a hard time catching fish in an aquarium! lol Keep us posted with what you catch! I won't get cranky if I have to wait another month. 

jasno999 - Fish-collecting, when done properly, is about the least threatening thing there is to a reef. You can rest easy.


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## wetpetshawaii (Sep 26, 2007)

Thanks.....yesterday I couldnt go out diving because of rough waters (rain stroms here) but I went into the shallow...(rough waters) cant keep me away from the ocean too long....anyways caught.....some halloween hermits, and linkia starfish...till I saw a small hammerhead shark.... and I thought to myself Im outa here!!! LOL but I stayed about 20 more minutes and collected a few small red slate pencil urchins.....anyways hope you all are having a great weekend...ALoha! WPH


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## wetpetshawaii (Sep 26, 2007)

todays catch strawberry crabs,hawaiian sand anemone....not much out there the waters still a little rough hopefully the weather and high surf calms down....


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

Cool pics ! Can you give us more info on strawberry crab and sand anemone - Care, Reef safe etc ... ? Looks awesome. It's amazing what you can find in the ocean nowadays.


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## wetpetshawaii (Sep 26, 2007)

Here is a link on the strawberry crab.....I cannot give my opinion on if its reef safe because we cant have reefs here in Hawaii

I have read though that they are reef safe


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strawberry_crab



Aloha


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## Zanekiller (Dec 16, 2007)

Wow

Lucky!

my grandparents are going soon so next time im there im gonna go scuba diving.


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## wetpetshawaii (Sep 26, 2007)

when you come here to Hawaii hit me up I will take you diving on my boat.....a hui ho kakou (till we meet again)







Zanekiller said:


> Wow
> 
> Lucky!
> 
> my grandparents are going soon so next time im there im gonna go scuba diving.


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## Guest (Dec 29, 2007)

I'm in cozumel right now....I shold be leaving for another scuba dive in about an hour or so....its amazing here...the fish, the corals, not many hrimps or crabs, but the conchs here are HUGE I even saw a sea turtle...lol I wish I could catch some and bring them home...lol sell them maybe


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## wetpetshawaii (Sep 26, 2007)

Be sure to take lots of pictures...I want to see some....Aloha!


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