BBC South Pacific again. Episode 5

Only of interest to UK residents reading this. Apologies to those further afield.

I just wanted to alert those who may have missed it, that the latest screened episode of South Pacific contained the most extraordinary footage I have seen in a long time.
A native Solomon Islander gathered Tarantula silk on a stick to use, believe it or not, as bait.
After boarding his boat, he attached the spool of spider silk to the line of a kite which he then floated up into the sky. The kite, dragged the silk across the surface like a dapping fly, up to 40 meters away from the boat.
When the kite dropped, the fisherman knew he had a bite and hand lined the fish in. This technique is used to catch large needlefish. Their small teeth get caught in the silk and there is no need for a hook at all.
Quite amazing and very beautiful to watch.
Here is a link to the BBC iPlayer episode. This section comes in approx 12 minutes in, but the whole program is very well worth watching. Amazing footage of New Zealand as well.


Apologies for anyone reading this outside the UK as I believe you will not be able to view it due to copyright rules. However, I am sure the series will be screen internationally very soon.