LIHU‘E — It’s not often that the object of a spearfishing contest is to get rid of introduced, invasive species.
But the invasive, introduced roi, to‘au and ta‘ape are targets of the Roi Roundup Invasive Species Spearfishing Tournament Saturday beginning with registration at 6:30 a.m., fishing from 7 a.m. to the noon weigh-in, states a press release.
Volunteers wishing to assist should arrive at 6:15 a.m. to help with registration at the boat-ramp pavilion.
Lunch and weigh-in will happen at noon.
As contestants come in, the total number of fish taken will be tallied, and prizes will go to those bringing in the largest and smallest roi, the release states.
Guest speakers will be ciguatera-poisoning survivor Tom Pickett and clean-ocean advocate Terry Lilley.
Contestants each get one raffle ticket with entry into the tournament, and raffle tickets will be for sale for $10 each for non-contestants. People must be present to win the raffle prizes.
See seasportdivers.com/spearfishing_roundup.html for more details.
The purpose of this event is to remove as many invasive species as possible so native species can become more abundant, the release states.
The roi (blue-spot grouper, Cephalopholis argus), introduced to Hawai‘i from Moorea in 1956, is the targeted species.
These fish have been growing in population and feeding on juvenile native species. One adult roi consumes as many as 140 native fish per year.
Multiply that by 100 species in any given area and lost are 14,000 native fish per year. These fish also can carry ciguatera, a toxin produced by micro-algae that attacks the human nervous system and can be fatal.
See saveourseas.org/saveourseas/studentlin_1./Pages/ciguatera.html for more information on ciguatera.
Brian Yoshikawa of Maui Sporting Goods said “one of the reasons we started this roi round-up series we do on Maui is to empower and involve the fisherman in taking care of our reefs, and to encourage competition that would be beneficial to the reefs.”
The fish caught in this event will be donated to the University of Hawai‘i to study ciguatera and try and create a cheaper, more-reliable ciguatera-test kit, the release states.
A more-reliable test may help humans regain the confidence to eat native fish knowing that they aren’t ciguatoxic, the release states.
“The roi roundup at ‘Anini will have dozens of experienced divers taking roi off the reefs all in one day,” said Lilley.
“This will help the health of the reefs and will add a lot of fish to an ongoing statewide study of ciguatera with the University of Hawai‘i. This event will help all of us understand ciguatera better and will also help the reef heal from the effects of these aggressive predators,” he said.
“My goal is to remove all the roi in certain areas, have them tested, and then video the native fish coming back to the reefs once the roi are gone. This will make an awesome TV movie and also provide historical video data that may help researchers in the near future,” Lilley said.
A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Easter Seals Kaua‘i so they may continue to provide vital programs and services for infants and toddlers with developmental disabilities on Kaua‘i, the release states.
Community sponsors include Sea Sport Divers, St. Regis Princeville Resort, Omer, Riffe, SOS (Save Our Seas) and many more.
Jon Barretto is contest organizer.
