Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
very careful where you put your hands and feet in the water so as to avoid those venomous
spines.
Surgeonish,
sometimes called tang, get their name from the scalpel-like spines located
on each side of the body near the base of the tail. Several surgeonfish, such as the brightly
colored yellow tang, are boldly colored; others are adorned in more conservative shades of
gray, brown, or black. The only endemic surgeonfish—and the most abundant in Hawaiian
waters—is the convict tang, a pale white fish with vertical black stripes (similar to a con-
vict's uniform).
Wrasses
are a very diverse family of fish, ranging in length from 2 to 15 inches. Wrasses
can change gender from female to male. Some have brilliant coloration that changes as they
age. Several types of wrasse are endemic to Hawaii: Hawaiian cleaner, shortnose, belted,
and gray (or old woman).
GAMEFISH
Hawaii is known around the globe as the place for big-game fish—marlin, sword-
fish, and tuna. Six kinds of
billfish
are found in the offshore waters around the islands:
Pacific blue marlin, black marlin, sailfish, broadbill swordfish, striped marlin, and shortbill
spearfish. Hawaii billfish range in size from the 20-pound shortbill spearfish and striped
marlin to the 1,805-pound Pacific blue marlin, the largest marlin ever caught with rod and
reel in the world.
Tuna
ranges in size from small (1 lb. or less) mackerel tuna used as bait (Hawaiians call
them oioi) to 250-pound yellowfin ahi tuna. Other local species of tuna are big-eye, alba-
core, kawakawa, and skipjack.
Other types of fish, also excellent for eating, include
mahimahi
(also known as dolphin
fish or dorado), in the 20- to 70-pound range;
rainbowrunner,
from 15 to 30 pounds; and
wahoo,
from 15 to 80 pounds. Shoreline fishermen are always on the lookout for
trevally
(the state record for a giant trevally is 191 lb.),
bonefish, ladyfish, threadfin, leatherfish,
and
goatfish.
Bottom fishermen pursue a range of
snapper
—red, pink, gray, and others—as
well as
seabass
(the state record is a whopping 563 lb.) and
amberjack
(which weigh up to
100 lb.).
WHALES
Humpback whales
are popular visitors who come to Hawaii to mate and calve
every year, beginning in November and staying until spring—April or so—when they re-
turn to Alaska. On every island, you can take winter whale-watching cruises that will
let you observe these magnificent leviathans up close. You can also spot them from
shore—humpbacks grow to up to 45 feet long, so when one breaches (jumps out of the wa-
ter), you can see it for miles.
Humpbacks are among the biggest whales found in Hawaiian waters, but other
whales—such as
pilot,sperm,falsekiller,melon-headed,pygmykiller,
and
beaked
—can
be seen year-round, especially in the calm waters off the Big Island's Kona Coast.
