Whats the Deal with Opakapaka?

First off, what is Opakapaka?

Well, Opakapaka is a red snapper, considered a bottom fish which are difficult to catch. It is also considered the most abundant Hawaiian bottom fish.... in terms of landed weight and total catch value.

Due to over fishing around the Hawaiian Islands, there are now times when "Deep 7" Bottom fish (opakapaka included) are banned. This year, the ban is in effect from July 6th to August 31st.

So now you are asking as to how exactly does this relate to my recent journey...

Well my second day on the Island I was dinning at Bamboo in Hawi Town. The proprietor noticed that one of my family members is wearing a hat that says Mauna Kea on it. She came over and asked if we were staying at Mauna Kea. Well, she goes into this long story about a recent dining experience. While she was pondering over the menu at the Hau Tree (beachside restaurant), she noticed that there was opakapaka. She inquired with the waiter as to its freshness. He informed her that it is"fresh and caught locally". The lady found this puzzling since she knew that the "Deep Bottom 7" are currently banned. When dinner was over, she stopped by Manta (Mauna Kea's fine dining venue) and inquired about the opakapaka and received the same information.

As her story came to a close, she informed us that she had turn the Mauna Kea in to the Health Department, since the hotel might be buying fresh black market fish. The inspector reported his findings to her. The supposedly locally caught fresh opakapaka was fresh when it was frozen. Also it was flown into Hawaii from Guam.

After hearing this story, I decided to do a little test of my own.

Here are the responses I received from various restaurants I recently dinned at:

Manta at Mauna Kea: "It is fresh but it caught down south outside of Hawaiian waters due to the ban."

Hualalai Grill at Four Seasons: "Yes it is fresh and local. We receive it from Fresh Island Fish."

Canoe House at Mauna Lani: "It is fresh and comes right here from Hawaii."

So are restaurants lying to their clients? Is opakapaka being acquired on the black market?

Not sure what to think of this but I smell something fishy....

-- Jaguar