Reefcatcheraq

I catch fish out here in Hawaii. I catch fish at random reefs, and we don't go to the same reef for 3-6 months. Kind of like farming, you can't over harvest and have to let things regrow! We don't go to any tourist attractions either, kind of go off the grid.

Scariest encounter was probably my first time catching reef fish. I've got 3000-5000 dives over the past 15 years of diving, so I'm not new to diving. Never ran out of air ever, but my first time catching fish I didn't realize all the stuff I had to carry caused so much drag that I got back up to the boat with probably less than 10 breaths of air left in my tank. Other than that, probably being circled by 6 bull sharks while I was spearfishing for food, and having to poke them with my spear gun because they where coming after my fish on my hip... that's probably the scariest since I had to continually fend off sharks from all angles and try to make it to the surface in one piece!!

I don't have a personal aquarium because it's too much work, time, and money. My personal aquarium is the ocean!

There are only about 20-25 people that collect fish across all the islands in Hawaii, which has just shy of 1.5 million in population.

I randomly got the job by looking on Craigslist. It wasn't advertised as a reef fish catching job, some guy just wanted a dive buddy. After he came to find out that I have a Marine Biology degree, experience spearfishing, boat captains license, and so many dives and could identify tons of fish he offered me the job. There are only 3 of us, and we make up 3 of 10 people doing it on my island. It's a very specialized job, and take a lot of skill and practice to get good at it.

People don't realize fish are FAST! Underwater, we're very slow. You can't chase down or out swim a fish, so it takes trickery and patience!

LOL... no I haven't seen Nemo. We don't have clown fish here in Hawaii, nor do we have blue tangs like Dori. We do have their close relatives though! Nemo and Dori are in Australia!

Haha I don't know! Who is your son and what does he do??

They are trying to raise fish in aquariums, but it is very difficult and expensive. I would say about 90% of fish in aquariums are taken from the wild.

The thing is, fish breed like wildfire kinda similar to insects. One fish can have tons and tons of babies. That doesnt hold true for mammals or larger wildlife which only have a few offspring.

The fish don't know they are in a tank, and honestly have a more stress free life since there are no predators chasing them daily!

We catch wild fish sustainably, and never over harvest one area. People always think we are rapeing the ocean, however that's not the case at all!

I've seen reefs that are just dead. I've been diving for 15 years, most if which have been lately... but I've seen the damage and seen the destruction! Many reefs here are bleached (coral bleaching) and dead... to be honest, the earth and oceans are dying!!