Standing before a four-foot wide photo collage, John Kurahara eyed the pictures of the lucky men and women with the big ones that didn't get away.

The fish tales were photos of the successful catches pasted on cardboard for all to see. Kurahara, a Liliha resident, was there too, right in the upper left corner. There he was beaming next to his own catch, a 150-pound marlin that he caught off Wai'anae.

The bragging-rights photo collage was one of the many displays at the third annual Hawai'i Fishing and Seafood Festival at Pier 38 yesterday.

Residents and visitors got to step aboard a fishing vessel, see a demonstration of new technology for fishing rods and reels, learn new recipes for cooking fish and taste free fish samples.

"The festival is all about the culture of fishing," said Kurahara, a member of Waialua Boat Club. "A lot of people who do fish have a good time doing it.

"People like to tell each other their fish stories."

For the organizers of the festival, the Pacific Islands Fisheries Group, the festival is about sharing with the public Hawai'i's ocean heritage. It's sharing the lore and the culture, said Neil Kanemoto, event volunteer.

"The ocean is our icebox," Kanemoto said. "We need to manage it and sustain our ocean so that we can always catch what we need. Events like this bring awareness. It's the one time a year to learn about seafood and the health benefits of fish."

Inside the refrigerated fish auction building, the United Fishing Agency displayed whole fish caught in Hawaiian waters. There was an ulua, 'opakapaka, mahimahi, marlin, opah and moonfish.

The dead fish eyes and crusty scales drew one-finger touches from youngsters who were enthralled with seeing the fish up close and personal. Parents snapped their pictures as if they had been the ones who caught the fish.

"I've never seen fish this close," said Haleigh Creedon, a 9-year-old Kailua resident. "Usually I see them in a fish tank. I was surprised by the colors. I touched one. It was all gooey."

Inside the auction house, Katrina Nakamura stood all bundled up in a sweater and passed out ideas on how to cook fish. She sought to allay fears that the mercury in fish outweighed the health benefits.

"The quality of the local fish is good," she said. "We studied the health effects, and we couldn't find any scientific evidence that there is a widespread problem with mercury in fish.

"We shouldn't be too worried about mercury in fish from the Pacific."

Last year the event at the Honolulu Fishing Village drew about 20,000 people during the all-day festival, Kanemoto said. This year, organizers were expecting even more.

"The event shows that there is a large community in Hawai'i interested in and involved with seafood and fish," he said.

At the long-line fishing boat, a steady stream of kids and their parents came on board. They climbed the ladder and peered into the fish storage. They examined the living quarters.

"They have bunk beds and a kitchen and a place to watch movies," said 5-year-old Sabrina Nelson, who was with her sister, Kate, and brother, Alec.

"It's good family fun," said Greg Nelson, Sabrina's father. "The kids really like fish. My son's favorite show is 'Deadliest Catch' on the Discovery Channel. He watches it all the time."