In the islands of Polynesia the fisherman don't waste any time with rod and reel fishing. They depend on fish to survive and to do so in the most efficient and quickest way possible- they spear fish. A speargun is an excellent way of catching the abundant fish that live in the lagoons and just off shore the islands. They also come in handy when sharks are around. Each speargun has only one spear and so needs to be reloaded each time it's fired. That's okay since each time a catch is made the fisherman swims to the surface and puts the fish into a floating bucket. This reduces the risk of attracting sharks. The best place to go spearfishing on the islands is in the middle of the pass. The largest numbers of fish congregate in these areas. But this can be dangerous for two reasons. First a fisherman must be able to swim against strong currents either flowing into or out of the lagoon. And of course there is always the threat of sharks. They're in the pass for the same reasons, to get fish. If you ask a native if it's safe to swim in the water he'll usually say yes even when there are sharks around. In and around the islands the most common shark is the black tipped reef shark. Generally these won't attack people unless there is alot of blood in the water which sends them into feeding frenzies. A motto we heard the fisherman use often was "don't worry, be happy," when it comes to sharks. Sharks can sense fear and will investigate anything that looks to be in distress. Strangely enough it is the smaller sharks that a swimmer needs to be cautious of. They can swim very fast and change directions almost instantly. Bigger sharks need time to maneuver before they can strike. This will give all but the most inept swimmer a chance to flee. Although we never heard of a Polynesian being killed by a shark there are about 5-6 attacks a year on each inhabited island. Fisherman who are attacked end up with massive scars that they like to show off.

We swam with enough sharks for one day so we decided to try a safer method of fishing- with a rod and reel. Teiki led us through the jungle and to the ocean side of the island. Here big waves crashed against the coral about 100 yards from shore. We waded out to where the coral dropped off and there was only deep ocean beyond. From this point we cast our line. The only lure that Teiki used was a little plastic thing that looked like a squid. He called it Casper but just about anything would catch a fish out here. A fish was caught on about every third cast. We had to let several of them go since they were too big. Even so we had more than enough food ourselves the three days we were left there.