Always in the Same Order

Te Ao Hou, June 1965, Page 37

Always in the Same Order To my way of thinking, one of the most wonderful things about this migration is that they never go down to the mouth out of their turn. The first to make the journey are the haos; next come the rikos, then the paranuis, and last of all the kokopu tuna. The eel traps are set about a chain and a half from the water's end (see diagram). The water here should be a little over a chain in width, and should take about eight baskets altogether. Five of these are on the side where the beach is, and three are on the landward side. This leaves an open channel somewhat under half a chain in width. As stated previously, the tawiri (net) is fastened around the mouth of the hinaki (basket). Six poles are driven into the water to hold open the mouth of the tawiri. These face into the water, and care must be taken to see that there are no gaps between them, so that eels cannot avoid going into the baskets. Each hinaki is fastened by a rope to a pole behind it. The whole concern is then tightened up with the rope, and this movement opens up the tawiri.