Our traps capture many other animals other than the lobsters they are intended for. Here is a sample of some of the species caught during this trip. Working from left to right and starting at the top we have:

1. Snail: This marine snail builds a heavy protective shell around itself to protect it from its many enemies..

2. Seven Eleven Crab: This crab usually hides most of the time and searches at night for items to eat.

3. Conger Eel: This is one of the few eels in Hawaii that doesn't belong to the moray eel family. By the time we had pulled the trap up with thiseel, it had suffocated by trying to swallow too big a fish (a blue striped snapper) that had also swum into the trap.

4. Dwarf Eel and Pennet Butterfly fish: Numerous fish enter the traps in search of the food they contain. We set up a temporary aquarium so we could view them.

5. Starfish: These animals crawl around on hundreds of small "tube feet" that protrude from under their 5 arms. This one was feeding on the bait canister in the trap.

6. Fire Worms: This 9 inch long marine worm is covered in tiny spines that break off in your skin and cause irritations. Handling them is done with care.

7. Hawaiian Turkeyfish: This beautiful little fish hides in wait for small fish which it gulps down with lightening fast reflexes. His top spines are venomous, so we handle him with care also.

8. Hairy Hermit Crab: These crabs use discarded snail shells to protect their bodies.

9. Kona Crab: These crabs look like well armored little tanks. They live hidden in the sand and pop out when in search of food.

10. Octopus: When we pulled one of the traps aboard ship, this colorful creature was happily dining on a lobster and a crab that had also wandered into the trap.

11. Rudder Fish: One of the traps contained a small school of these fish which were in search of the bait the trap contained.

12. Scorpion Fish: This fish hunts like the turkey fish, by staying still and suddenly sucking up small fish that venture too close. His top spines are also venomous and can cause a lot of pain and swelling if mishandled.

13. Sea Cucumber: This tubular animal has fleshy tentacles protruding from his head and crawls slowly along the bottom.

14. Box Crab: The well armored crab uses those big claws of his to actually cut open snail shells so he can eat the soft body they contain.

15. Squirrel Fish: This nocturnal fish stays hidden deep within the coral at night, and swims out at night to feed on the many tiny animals that swim above the coral at night.

16.   Sponge Crab: This docile crab cultivates and protects a "garden' of sponge that grows attached to the crabs back. The sponge benefits by getting transportation to new areas to feed, and the crab benefits as he is constantly hidden from sight by the umbrella like sponge. The crab's hind legs are specially designed to do nothing but hold on to the sponge culture.