Grips With Some

Niue Gets To

Fishing Problems

Prom a Niue Correspondent A Fish Protection Bill, de signed, among other things, to eradicate the creeper known as lakau niukini and to prohibit its use in poisoning or stunning fish, was introduced in the Niue

Island Assembly recently.

THE lakau niukini creeper is sup posed to have been brought to Niue from New Guinea. It is capable of killing humans as well as fish.

Two other types of poison are used for “catching” fish on Niue— kieto, which is a fruit berry from a tree and a mild poison, and kahuhu, another creeper.

There is apparently plenty of fish poisoning carried out by the people, especially at the back of the island where it can be done more easily unobserved.

The plant or fruit to be used is steeped in water and then poured into a pool.

Such poisoning often affects a wide area, for the tide takes the poison out to sea and poisons fish which will never be scooped up for food.

However, fish poisoning isn’t always frowned upon, especially when big fish are scarce and the oeople want fish to eat. Then a nass fish-poisoning is organised, ising the mild kieto poison.

At high tide, just as the tide starts o leave the reef, people gather on he edge of the reef and beat the water to keep the fish on the reef md in the pools, and then at low ide, they poison them.

Probably the last mass fish poison ng on Niue was organised by Alofi dllage on the reef at Utuko in Alofi n 1951.

Bait Fish

During the Assembly’s discussion >n the Fish Protection Bill, concern yas expressed with the fishing times or the ulihega, which is a small ish used for bait.

In some villages, it was said, the >ld custom was not being observed )f waiting for most or all of the ishermen in a particular area to irrive before everyone moved out o the ova ulihega (fishing grounds

for bait fish) to start fishing at the same time.

Some fishermen were going out to the grounds before the others, and people coming late from the bush where they had been working on their plantations, or government workers who didn’t finish until 4 o’clock, were angry.

Three quarters of an hour before sunset is apparently a reasonable time to start catching bait fish, but if somebody goes out too early, the bait fish are well fed by the time the late comers arrive, and the late comers get no bait.

It’s a serious situation on Niue.

Fishermen have come to blows over bait fishing, paddling ashore in their canoes and then fighting it out with fists.

To have some sort of control over this problem, the Assembly agreed that a provision be added to the bill for consideration when it comes up for a second reading.