Fishing - Chamorro Fish Hook ( Haguet )

The ancient people of the Marianas used a number of methods for taking fish and were skilled at fishing in both shallow and deep water. Fish could be caught in the shallows as found in Apra Harbor using weirs (Gigao), channels that would guide fish into fish traps or channel the fish into areas where they could be gathered by net, spear or by hand. Chamorros also used several types of nets as well as fish hooks, hand lines and lures.   

From artifacts found we know that fish hooks (Haguet) could come in a “J”, “L” or “V” shape and could be made from sea shell, turtle shell, and bone. Some hooks consisted of two separate parts, the shaft and the tip. I made this 1.5 inch hook from mahogany wood, deer bone and pago bark fiber.