Lobster for the pot?—we've thousands!

Despite the Tonga Government’s concerted drive to control the kingdom’s skyrocketing population growth through family planning, American diver-cum-flier, Miss June von Donop, plans soon to effect a massive population explosion on Mango, Ha’apai group.

But family planners need not worry unduly. Miss von Donop is only establishing a hatchery for lobsters, in which thousands upon thousands are expected to spend their first days free from predators.

“When they are big enough to look after themselves, they will be released and allowed to roam freely over the reef,” explained Miss yon Donop, handing me a plateful of turtle meat and macaroni cooked in coconut milk—-it was a delicious dinner.

While her chief diver buzzed about and two old men were cutting turtle steaks on the nearby beach, Sune (as she is affectionately called by the 50 inhabitants of Mango Island) told her story and plans for farming lobsters.

Before she arrived in Tonga from San Francisco two and a half years ago, Sune had studied accounting and taught the subject at an accounting firm in Seattle. She later became paymaster for a construc tion company and invested her savings in real estate. She subsequently sold her land investments and retired before coming to Tonga.

She sailed for Auckland with American yachtsman Lee Quinn (famed for his all-girl crews) on the ketch Neophyte, later “jumped ship” in Tahiti, where she joined as crew member on a 65-ft French schooner before returning to the US to sell her land investments.

Arriving in Tonga, Sune saw King Taufa’ahau, who was in favour of the idea of setting up a hatchery for lobsters. After six months looking, Sune eventually settled for Mango Island, 55 miles north of Nukualofa.

“The idea is to catch egg-bearing mother lobsters and place their eggs in the enclosure (which has fine netting). Each mother carries around 10,000 eggs, and if they all hatch successfully that’ll be a heck of a lot of lobsters,” said Sune.

“If successful, this will become world-wide. I have been in touch with authorities on the subject of lobsters, but so far no one has done anvthing like this. This is a new theory and I am sure it will be a success. If any untrained woman can do it, anyone can. I’ll be tickled to death to see my idea copied. Grays are food for gods and kings and there will alwavs be a market for them.”

But Sune is not seeking to make monev out of it. “Everybody these davs is taking, taking, taking—and nobodv seems to want to give.

I want the islanders and Tongans generally to benefit from this venture.”

Photo shows June with her chief diver, Onehunga, and pet dog, at Mango Island.—STO MAGTSI.