By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist

It came up during research for another story, a simple phrase that sent the imagination reeling.

The article was written in 1977 and the phrase was "hunt 'opihi."

Hunt 'opihi?!

Gather 'opihi, yes.

Pick 'opihi, sure.

But hunt?

"Shhhh! No make noise bumbye they hear you and take off!"

The image of Elmer Fudd with high-water pants, mesh bag and butter knife stalking the elusive 'opihi somehow leads to the question: "Eh, how come nobody is growing 'opihi commercially?"

After all, there's limu farms, abalone farms, even tilapia farms, of all things. Why not 'opihi? There's a demand, right? Why not supply? Not like they're intemperate or unruly animals. Not like they're gonna bite you or constantly try to puka the fence and escape. So what?

Dale Sarver, who has his Ph.D. in marine ecology and has conducted aquaculture research in Hawai'i for over two decades, says the answer is pretty simple: you just can't make money raising 'opihi.

"Well, they're pretty small," he explains, "and though everybody has this impression that they're very expensive, when you take it down to how much you get for each 'opihi, it's really not that much. Like 8 or 10 cents a piece. You can barely pick them for that."

In the early 1990s, Sarver worked on a project to develop the technology to commercially culture 'opihi. He says he focused on the largest of the three species.

Wait, three species? I thought 'opihi was 'opihi.

Turns out, there's the black foot, which is above the tide zone and just gets splashed by the waves. Then there's the yellow foot, the one you eat at lu'au. That one lives on the impact zone and gets exposed during low tide. Then there's the koele, the big bambucha, the one your uncle wears on a pendant and belt buckle. Big Boy lives sub-tidal, and you gotta' snorkle to get him.

Though a trip to your favorite old-time 'opihi spot might convince you they're endangered, Sarver says no, they're just over-harvested. There are regulated size limits, but no real enforcement. When was the last time you heard about somebody being busted for picking undersize 'opihi?

Sarver figured out a way to grow them that he thinks could be used in a stock replenishment program. The larvae can be hatched in large numbers, and then, Sarver says, "just spray them right onto the rocks and let the ocean do the work."

SPRAY them?

"With a pump. A water pump. They're pretty hardy," says Sarver, who explains that baby 'opihi are the size of "specks."

"I always wanted to try that, to re-seed the rocks," he says. "But why bother if people are just going to cream out your stock anyway?"

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.