During more than 400 years of occupation and survival,the Agatti islanders have developed an intimate knowledge of the reefs. They have also developed a local naming system or folk taxonomy,naming fish according to their shape. Sometimes the same species is given different names depending on its size and age. For example,a full grown Emperor fish is called Metti and a juvenile is called Killolkam. The abundance of each species at different fishing grounds is also well known. Along with this knowledge of reefs resources, the islanders have developed a wide range of skills and techniques for exploiting them. A multitude of different fishing techniques are still used by the islanders,each targeting different areas of the reef and particular species.