While on Kwaj in the Marshall Islands sharks were used for bait if they
were caught (kids) while
fishing.  To much quality fish present to eat there for natives or those
from Hawaii, Japan, or the Philippines that had unique taste for sea
food.  I heard of only one attack in the whole time there - and it
was a tank diver that ran into a Blue coming around the German ship sunk
there.  Natives worked the
beaches and got plenty.  The Kwaj Site (mostly blue collar ...) ate
Turtle and most anything they
could catch.  I'm not sure on the number eaten.  Natives sold teeth and
jaws - so I knew they caught them.
Wahoo were the sport and fine dining fish for all who could check out a
PT boat and go ocean side.
The atoll was so tall, thousands of feet tall from what I was told that
the deep side was often
visited by Whale and various game fish in migrations.  That
Atoll/mountain was long on their list
to be visited is my guess.  Plenty of food for all sizes of fish.

While I dived there - I used yellow floating curved fins (Cressi from
Italy IIRC).
I loved them - I, being 16,17 there was able to drive hard to the bottom
for more bottom
time and then come up for air.  And yes Fabio hit the mark with Moray
eels - that often charged
out of a coral head at a leg or arm.  You always looked before
reaching.  Holding air longer...
Stone fish, Turkey/Lion fish, eels, and barracuda were the big ones to
watch for.  Reaching under
a coral shelf for a cowrie often took another dive to get it if looking
took to long.

A native on the upper islands - a few went far away from home - maybe a
'rite of age' - don't know -
the atoll was 70 miles long.  One of them were attacked by and I believe
taken by a sea going crocodile.
It was said it was 50 to 60 feet long.  [ How many boots... ].
Sea Air flew their plane out there either for him or to hunt the crock.
I didn't get the 'rest of the
story' likely because it was not good.  My cousin was on the SAR crew in
those years. my source.

Life there was a kick.  Life really changed after Typhoons and tropical
storms.  With the washing
of the atoll in general with wind and wave out of order we would get
birds and other guests
(a group from the Gilbert islands).  I forgot - Tidal wave on Good
Friday - the Alaskan Earth quake '64.

The atoll continues to live, graduate new classes of high school
students, and last I heard still
graduates U of H students through correspondence and on-site classes.
MIT / Lincoln Labs are present
from time to time.  Gosh they have phones and TV/Satellite now!

Martin [ wish I were on Kwaj :-) ]



Fabio Moretzsohn wrote:
> Interesting, I will ask Dr. Earle about the "yum-yum yellow" fins. She
> works at my institute, but most of the time she is somewhere else.
>
> I think I read or heard something from the Marshall Islands or
> Micronesia that "men eat sharks 10,000 more times than sharks eat
> men". I can't find the source, and a quick Google search did not
> uncover it. Perhaps Martin or others may have heard that quote.
>
> I have seen sharks while diving many times, and luckily never had any
> incident. I do not have a morbid fear, as someone said, but respect
> them. In Brazil I used to fear barracudas and big moray eels more than
> sharks. Moray eels are territorial and often come out of nowhere when
> you reach for a shell in crevices, and are known to bite divers. I've
> seen huge ones in northeastern Brazil that are scary looking, but they
> are defending their territory and not trying to eat you.
>
> Recife (Pernambuco, NE Brazil) has had lots of shark attacks in the
> last 10-15 years. But some 22 years ago, I was spearfishing and
> looking for shells past the reef, exactly where most of the recent
> attacks occur. I saw a huge fish, probably a shark, swim some 10
> meters or more below, and both my buddy and I got a rush of
> adrenaline. We were not afraid but excited, and discussed what to do
> if a shark were to come close (ditch the buoy with speared fish and
> swin away quietly). We kept spearfishing a little longer, but then the
> fear sank in, and we decided to head to shore. We probably should not
> try to repeat it today.
>
> Cheers,
> Fabio M.
>
> -------------------------------------------------
> Fabio Moretzsohn, Ph.D.
> Assistant Research Scientist
> Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies
> Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
> 6300 Ocean Drive, Unit 5869
> Corpus Christi, TX 78412-5869
> Phone: (361) 825-3230
> Fax: (361) 825-2050
> mollusca [at] gmail.com <http://gmail.com>

--
Martin H. Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
TSRA, Endowed; NRA LOH & Patron Member, Golden Eagle, Patriot's Medal.
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder
IHMSA and NRA Metallic Silhouette maker & member.
http://lufkinced.com/

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