Just back from 3rd Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll Expedition.  Boat is staying for a month there to serve other customers also.

Napoleon Fish - this is the topic of today. Last September, our Captain Mohamed got over 50kg Napoleon Fish.  This time, I had 4 Napoleon Fishes for 4 days straight including 58kg, 55kg, and 35kg x 2.  Last week, our friends from Thailand also caught Napoleon again.  Woops, I almost forgot that I also got my first Napoleon Fish in July expedition in Gaafu Dhaalu.

Appearantly Gaafu Dhaalu and Gaafu Alif Atolls have rich stocks of Napoleon Fishes.  Napoleons are known and popular among divers for their friendly nature while they are predators to many smaller bait fishes that is why they break the ocean surface to attack gigantic topwater lures.  When I saw Napoleon for the  first time when snorkeling, it was hard imagin such predator natures from its cute/funny looking, slow swimming fish.

They are Protected Specie so that we take maximum care of Catch & Release.  It however is fun fish to fight especially those over 50kg that has a lot of power and even speed like GTs.  Those over 50s, I first thought would be GTs but when they appeared on surface near boat, it was green color giants instead of silver GTs.  Many of my GT fishermen friends with over 50kg or even 60kg records landed in the past, it is rarer to have this big Napoleons.  After posted Napoleons' photos in our facebook fan pages, I received a lot of inquiries.  Our services are to target GTs but we get a lot of other fishes like Red Snappers, Groupers, Sharks, Bluefin Trevallies, Yellowfin Tunas, and Napoleon in very occasional, or rather lottery kinds of chance.  Anyway, this very remote Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll (8 hours by boat, 1 hour by air) has a huge stock of untouched and challenged GTs and Napoleon Fishes.  It is expensive to go there as it consumes over 3000 litters of petro for round trip.  It is the reason that not many fishermen reached there thus well protected, unspoiled fishes and ecosystems remained.  So we are planning not to go there all the time but limit to only a few occasions for protecting the area.  However, if you really want to go, let us know.  We will think about it!

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