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TWO DAYS ON A POTI MARARA WITH A TAHITIAN FISHERMAN

 
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 07, 2022 8:21 am    Post subject: TWO DAYS ON A POTI MARARA WITH A TAHITIAN FISHERMAN Reply with quote

TWO DAYS ON A POTI MARARA WITH A TAHITIAN FISHERMAN




By Mark Kolsen (United States of America)




Captain J.P. Tchen is proud of his fishing boat, “O’Hopu 4.” After years of fishing in three smaller boats, the 53 year old Tahitian–with considerable help from family and friends–bought his lime green 24 foot poti marara for $130,000 in 2014. The boat enables him to earn a living for his family, and to “pay back” his donors with frequent deliveries of bonito and yellowfin tuna, the two species he hunts daily. And if those donors would also like to fish, swim, or just take a boat ride to Papeete, J.P. happily obliges.


Originally designed in 1962 for Tahitian spearfishermen, the poti marara is now a common site on the strait between Tahiti and Moorea, where Captain Tchen lives with his wife Jacqueline and extended family. Tahitian subsistence fisherman like him have equipped the boat with rod holders, outriggers, and trolling tackle. Given the high price of gas, ice, and the equipment needed to land big tuna, it’s a high overhead business. His two Shimano Targas 130 reels cost $2000 apiece in Papeete. And his fuel hungry Volvo penta inboard/outboard requires regular professional maintenance.


J.P. derives his income from his daily catch. Our first day on the water, he landed twelve 20 pound bonitos, which were kept on ice in the 8 foot cooler standard on all poti mararas. On shore, Gipper split the fish in half and bagged each half in plastic. His wife then sold them at a roadside stand adjacent to the marina. On average, each half fish sold for $20 to passersby in automobiles or on bikes; five fish halves were given to family members.


But on our second day, with the help of first mate Eric Tehou, J.P. landed two big tuna, one at 154 and the other at 132 pounds. A phone call to Jacqueline spread the word, and at the dock I watched as buyers arrived quickly to buy a share of the catch. One buyer bought a whole tuna, dressed, for $5 a kilo (2.2 lbs). Other buyers vied for the huge steaks J.P. cut from the larger fish. In less than an hour, the fish was sold.


The fast sale was no surprise. In Tahiti, the national dish is poisson cru, raw fish marinated in lime juice and coconut milk. And yellowfin tuna is everyone’s favorite ‘raw fish’; in fact, tuna is the only fish used in Moorea restaurants serving poisson cru.


Catching tuna requires hard work, patience, and superb eyesight. As he fishes, Captain Tchen pays no attention to sonar or other fishing boats. In all directions, he scans the horizon for hovering birds. If a small flock of 10 or 20 birds is circling above the water, he points and says “big tuna there,” and races to that spot. If a larger flock–sometimes hundreds–is tightly gathered and diving for bait fish in the water, he usually pronounces “bonitos there.” Somehow he knows if “large” or “small” bonitos are lurking below.


Usually Captain Tchen trolls only one bait on one rod, a large rapala-type body bait that caught both tuna. As his boat approaches a flock of birds, he reduces engine speed and likes to troll perpendicular to the direction of the waves.. But if the birds suddenly move–and they often do–he slides his “joystick” in their direction and follows them. (On a poti mara, there is no steering “wheel.”) During the morning, J.P. concentrates intensely on bird watching because–as he says–”by 9.a.m tuna fishing finished.”


But bonitos are a different story. On our first day, he suddenly sprang from the boat cockpit and grabbed a cane pole rigged with a rope, leader and small stainless steel “spoon” with a large hook (see photo). He then ran to the stern and dangled the spoon in front of a visible school of large bonitos. I then watched in amazement as he hooked, and hurled,--one by one–twenty pound bonitos out of the water and into the boat. In less than 15 minutes, twelve large fish were flopping around the deck. And for the first time that day, Captain Tchen. drank lustily from the water bottle.


Bonitios are also caught on trolling rods or, more commonly, by hand lines baited with small artificial squids. Fishermen spool out 40 or 50 yards of line, hold the lines with one hand and then swing their arms back and forth to imitate a wounded bait swimming in the water. If a bonito strikes, the line and struggling fish are retrieved “ hand over hand.” In the case of a big bonito, it is advisable to wear a pair of gloves or nurse bloodied hands after the fish is landed.


The Tahitian poti marara should interest U.S. boat manufacturers, who are increasingly mechanizing sailboats to accommodate solo sailors. In a poti marara, solo fishermen like J.P. can sit safely in the deep forward cockpit, set lines, and retrieve fish from the same position. The high forward cockpit offers exceptional visibility. In order to net or gaff a big fish, a captain must hop from the cockpit on to the deck, but with a deep V hull comprising 6600 pounds of fiberglass, O”Hopu 4 didn’t pitch a foot, even in 6 foot waves. And the long ice chest makes fish storage–in fact, all kinds of storage– quick and easy to access.


Yet, as used by Tahitian subsistence fishermen like J.P., the poti marara has major disadvantages. With its single i/o engine, his heavy boat is relatively slow, designed for big water trolling, not high speed tournaments. From miles offshore, racing home to beat an oncoming storm could be a challenge. And with its heavy weight, the craft uses fuel efficiently. Plus, with no canvas or hard top, fishermen on a poti marara are also exposed to the blazing sun.


To solve these problems and increase the boat’s versatility, Marinalu, a boat builder located on the French Polynesian island of Raiatea, has modified the original design. Its new M23 poti marara, similar in size to O’Hopu 4,, is made of an aluminum alloy with a bare hull weight of only 2500 pounds yet can accommodate outboard motors to 300 hp, Compared to Captain Chen’s craft, this boat can fly! Moreover, the new design includes a permanent awning with a “plastic” cover for sun protection, as well as a cockpit with “rear access,” allowing a captain to slide in and out it easily. Finally, unlike traditional poti mararas, which were designed for one fisherman and offered passengers only awkward seating on the cooler, the M23 provides seating, with underneath storage.


As a fisherman who often fishes alone on big water like Lake Michigan, the newly designed Marinalu poti-marara is a preferable alternative to the center consoles built by many American manufacturers. It is also a good alternative to the many heavy duty aluminum fishing boats now spreading from the Northwest to other American states, such as the Thunder Jet. U.S. boat builders, please take note.
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