I have a great dislike, rather a phobia, for long eerie looking creatures namely, earth worm, leaches, snails, snakes, caterpillars etc. I remember back in high school (Form 6 Bio Lab), we have to do experiment on earth worms. We have to search for earthworms and found heaps of them near the creek at the back of our school. I almost vomit looking at the size of those earthworms. They were so healthy, huge, twisted and piles of it once you unearth moist rubbish dump.

My classmates (mainly guys and some daring gals) were picking them up with their hands and throwing around. That was so gross yet we have to endure it and took the best looking big, fat, long worms back to the lab. We then boil them up in hot water. Gosh the smell was indescribable. It stinks the whole lab and near by classrooms too. Once you boil them up, they changed in color and their size too. Before they were reddish brown and changed into dirty pale pink.

We then dissect them from head to tail. I didn’t touch a single thing. I just watched and examined from the sideline. It was quite an experience to study my greatest fear – the worms. Though they seem to be very harmless and have many worthy means for the environment, they are the most annoying, ugliest, yuckiest, good-for-nothing, useless creatures for me.

The once and only time I encountered an earthworm was while I was digging soil for a vegetable plant. I cut them half in the process. The cut parts got twisted and jumped up on my foot; I run like hell and never dig the moist soil again. It was my 1st and last association with earthworms as well as helping mom garden.

Ok, enough about my earth worm adventures and back to the main story. I want to talk about another long eerie looking creature called “Duna”, the eels. A few days back, my friend forwarded two great photos of Duna caught at Monasavu Dam. The eels were enormous. I was surprised by the way locals caught them. They seemed to be using some bamboo and a few spears which I find it quite small to catch that big eels.

Check out the way they handle the eels. Slice up the head and poke a bamboo in to carry around.

I never seen an eel in real life but only seen some small ones on books and TV. I don’t know much about eels but I’ve decided that they are surely not in my desirable animal list. I wasn’t sure of whether there are lots of eels in Fiji so I did a bit of research for my own satisfaction. Turn out that, Fiji is a good place for eels culture since they like tropical climates with temperature around 23-28C.

Here are some facts about eels.

True eels (Anguilliformes) are an order of fish, which consists of 4 suborders, 19 families, 110 genera and 400 species. Most eels are predators.

The flat and transparent larva of the eel is called a leptocephalus. A young eel is called an elver.

Most eels prefer to dwell in shallow waters or hide at the bottom layer of the ocean, sometimes in holes.

Depending on their species, eels can reach from 10 cm to 3 m, and weigh up to 65 kg.

In Micronesia, eels are believed to hold the souls of one’s departed relatives. As such, killing eels is a grave offence and was once punishable by death.

Wiki information on Eels: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eel

Don’t you think it’s just so big and ugly? (I meant the eel) Those Fijians seem happy, may be a good meal for them.

This is an abstract from SPC article:
Catching Eels in Pacific Island Countries and Territories [ pdf ]

Pacific Island countries offer a good environment in which to culture eels, as they grow rapidly in tropical climates, preferring a temperature range of 23-28C, and a pH rane of 7.0 – 8.0. In Fiji, when the word “duna” or “bham” is used, it is certain that the fish referred to is the so-called common eel, Anguilla, which occurs in most of the islands.

For pond-based aquaculture, the best site is one with a constant water supply. Eels are consumed in PICTs and particularly in Fiji, where it is an important source of protein for the rural indigenous population. In some localities, high demand has led to the collection of young eels from the wold for culture in tilapia ponds.

In Fiji, elvers and juvenile eels are caught from estuaries, mountain tributaries, swapms and ditches using various types of local gear. These eels are grown to marketable size in ponds designed for tilapia culture and solic live at Fj$ 10.00 per kg at Suva and Nausori markets.

In PICTs, eels are caught with hand lines, spears, cane knives and push nets. This gear is designed to capture a wide range of fish and crustaceans and is not specific to capturing eels.

Eels feed on a variety of feeds such as fish, molluscs, crustaceans, and terrestrial and aquatic insects.

Fishing methods and gear
The catching of eels in Fiji and other Pacific Islands normally involves inexpensive and very simple gear, which includes: baited hook and line, spears, push nets, hollow bamboo piece or PVC pipes, baited trap and seine nets. There are 3 commonly used methods, depending on materials available in villages, to catch eel.

• Baited line
• Eel spears
• Push net

And here are the famous Japanese Eel (Unagi) Recipes.

# Unagi – Japanese Eel Dishes
# Unagi (eel) Salad Recipe
# Unagi (eel) Stir-fry Recipe

I guess, that’s enough facts about eels. Interesting isn’t it? Well, at least it is interesting for me. Thanks Jachin and Alisi for the photos, my bossy sis for some fixes and you can read the prologue too.

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