How many of you have tried the maroro tunutunu (grilled flying fish) available at various outlets around Rarotonga? This traditional Cook Islands treat, often eaten at breakfast time, is something everybody should try.

There are at least five different species of flying fish caught in Cook Islands waters. They are usually caught at night from small outboard powered boats, often with just one person on board. The fisherman uses light to attract the flying fish, which are then scooped out of the water  or sometimes even while they are flying through the air. A good fisherman can catch hundreds in a few hours. Looking out from shore on some nights you can see these bright lights of the fishing boats as they move around the ocean scooping the fish.

There is also a very traditional method of catching flyingfish still being practiced in Mitiaro in the southern Cook Islands. This is called maroro tu, and is conducted for a few days each month, corresponding with the moon phase, for about six months of the year, from July to December. There are many traditional rules around this fishery, including having to fish from a small outrigger canoe, with no motorised propulsion. The fish are scooped up during spawning aggregations during the day, using a long handled scoop net. All the fish is distributed among the community of Mitiaro, and it is not allowed to be sold.

But this is not just a story of an iconic fishery, as it includes value adding to the catch. Very different to the tuna that is scooped up by the huge purse seiner vessels and then shipped off to overseas markets where it ends up in small tin cans and then sold back to us. You can find Maroro hanging from roadside trees from where the the fishermen sell it in strings of around five fish per string to the local community. Other more entrepreneurial fisher families, such as Rupe and Ta’i Rima, take the catch to the Punanaga Nui Market, grill it on a barbecue plate, and serve it up with maniota (cassava), coconut sauce (tai) and some fresh squeezed lime and chilli, if you like it a bit on the spicy side! This usually goes for $10 a plate, which is a great value healthy breakfast. It is also a great way to add value to the catch, turning a $2 fish to a $10 fish with a bit of extra work and entrepeneurial spirit.

If your preference is raw fish, that too is available from your friendly local flyingfish eatery. The fish is cleaned and skinned or scaled, and also served with fresh lime, coconut sauce, maniota, and the optional chilli.

There is another great thing about the maroro tunutunu eatery at the Punanaga Nui Market, and probably others around the island. They are virtually zero waste. The fish is served on a plate which is washed and reused. There is reuseable cutlery if you need it, but most people eat with their hands and then wash up at the tap. All the waste bones etc goes into a bin that is fed to the pigs. 

The best thing about flyingfish is it is abundant, and probably one of the most sustainable fisheries in the world. Definitely an underutilised resource when compared to so many of the marine resources in the world that are overfished these days. So the next time you want to go and eat out for breakfast, go local and go sustainable, and find a maroro tunutunu stall!