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By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
Kaimuki High School teacher Lowell Cambra looks into
one of two polyethylene pools raided by fishnappers.

Kaimuki fish
theft robs fund-
raiser plans

Nearly 400 catfish were stolen
from Kaimuki High School; they
were to be sold as a fund-raiser

---

By Rosemarie Bernardo
Star-Bulletin

Kaimuki High School teacher Lowell Cambra arrived on campus Monday morning to feed the 400 Asian catfish being raised by his aquascience students.

But a nearby chain-link fence was cut, the black tarp covering the outdoor fish tanks was pulled off -- and most of the catfish were gone.

"It's not the first time," Cambra said. The recent break-in is the fourth within the last two years, he said.

"Students do the work. And when things like this happen, they get frustrated," he said. Cambra said they were planning to sell the catfish at the Kaimuki Parent-Teacher Student Association Craft Fair on Oct. 18.

The students were "suppose to sell them fo' make party," said Kaimuki aquascience student Keoni Arizo, 15.

"It seems like we can't get off the ground," Cambra said. "It seems like we're just raising it for someone to get it."

The fish are used for the kids to learn, Cambra said. Selling them for $1 each was a fund-raiser for a Christmas party. The market value of an Asian catfish is $6 a pound, he said.

The aquascience program is part of a Lokahi project for high school students, who primarily learn about fish breeding. Students also learn about the supply and demand of fish as a food source, Cambra said.

The aquascience program, which began three and a half years ago, is funded by the federal and state government with $3,000 a year, Cambra said.

"All they're doing is hurting the kids," said Dr. Clyde Tamaru, an aquaculture specialist at the University of Hawaii-Manoa who assists at various high schools that have an aquascience program. "With aquaculture, it's a hands-on kind of thing. It's a very effective tool to learn math and reading" as students calculate feeding rates and growth of the fish.

Vice principal John Flynn said, "It's an unfortunate thing that this happened." He said the administration is exploring the possibility of installing cameras at the aquascience building.

Cambra said he didn't report this theft of fish, as he has past ones, because he said police can't do anything about it.

Previous fish tank break-ins at Kaimuki High School were:

Aug. 19: 100 pounds of Asian catfish and 60 pounds of sunfish stolen.

May 1999: 300 pounds of Asian catfish and sunfish stolen.

December 1998: 70 pounds of koi (fish from Japan) and pacu (fish from Africa) stolen.