"One year I went snorkeling on the Island of Oahu at Mokuleia. I was diving near the reef close to shore when I spotted a Huma Nuku Nuku Apuaa. It was a fish that had many colors like red, yellow, green, and orange. It also had a beak like a parrot. I shot the fish in the middle with a spear gun. The gun had a barbed spearhead, so after I speared the fish I tried dragging it to shore. But the fish flopped all over the place in the water. When I finally got the fish to shore I tried to take the spear out with my hands, but I was scared to because the fish had a beak like a parrot and I thought it might bite off my fingers. So I finally took my knife and cut the hook out because the barbs were stuck so deep in the fish.

After I brought the fish home I called a friend of mine and asked if the fish was edible. He told me that there was a fish that looked like that which was poisonous. So I threw the fish away. I felt bad about killing a fish I couldn't eat."

Guy Sandlin