CRITTER: Meet ‘o’ili the Barred Filefish
This gold colored 14 inch fish is one critter you do not want to mess with!
CRITTER: Meet pupu ‘ole the Marlinspike Auger
You can dive in Hawai‘i for 20 years and never see one of these 10 inch long beautiful shells but they are actually very common.
CRITTER: Meet a’awa the deep water male Hawaiian Hogfish
Most divers in Hawaii have never seen this adult male fish as it usually lives at depths of 100 feet or more, until recently!
CRITTER: Meet puhi the Dwarf Moray Eel
I love to scuba dive by myself and go into underwater caves because there are so many special creatures there that the world rarely if ever sees, and when I am by myself no one scares the fish away!
CRITTER: Meet kole the Goldring Surgeonfish
Anyone who has dove in Hawaii more than likely has seen this attractive six inch long fish as they are quite common but most people haven’t looked closely at its actual colors!
CRITTER: Meet the ocean’s natural seawall ‘ako ‘ako ‘a the cauliflower coral
Let’s go surfing today and ride a perfect, 10-foot wave at Sunset Beach, then afterwards hang out in the sun on the beautiful, wide, sandy beach for the afternoon. At times in the past we could say this, but now things have changed. There are very few perfect, 10-foot waves at Sunset Beach anymore, and there is no wide, sandy beach to relax on!
CRITTER: Meet loli the sea cucumber
We have over a dozen sea cucumbers that call Hawaiian waters home, and most of them are called “loli.”
CRITTER: Meet the coral guard crab
When we scuba dive in Hawaii we are always on the lookout for the large crown of thorn starfish. This venomous foot wide starfish eats live coral and it is native to Hawaii. Sometimes the crown of thorns population gets out of control and can eat up an entire coral reef.
Meet the rare Tinkers butterfly-fish from Ni‘ihau
As a marine biologist it has been fun to try and get a picture and video clip of every known Hawaiian fish species that lives close to shore for my marine life education program.
CRITTER: Meet puhi uha the conger eel
The conger eel grows to be about four foot long and they have tiny teeth, compared to the moray eels which usually have large sharp teeth.
CRITTER: Meet kaku the barracuda
That is not a big shark! It’s kaku the barracuda!
CRITTER: Pohaku puna the finger coral, natures seawall
If you live on a sandy beach here in Hawaii then you may come to love the giant finger corals because they just may help save your house from falling into the sea someday soon! Pohaku
CRITTER: Meet the banded coral shrimp, the underwater dentist
Most divers and snorkelers here in Hawaii have seen the banded coral shrimp. This super common marine invertebrate is usually seen during the day hanging upside down in a small crack or cave in the reef.
CRITTER: Meet kupipi the singing fish
Spring is here and love is all around even for the fish! From birds to geckos, animals often change colors and behaviours this time of year to attract a mate for breeding.
CRITTER: Meet moano the many-bar goat-fish
This foot long goatfish is very common here in Hawaii and you usually see them near the base of rocky outcroppings where they use their two appendages under their chin called barbels, to find food.
CRITTER: Meet the striped mullet, the fish of the chiefs,
There are three types of mullets that are native to Hawaii and ‘ama’ama the striped mullet is the largest species growing to about 25 inches. This silver fish with black edges around its fins lives in shallow water close to shore often in large schools.
CRITTER: Meet the very strange looking harlequin shrimp
Most divers in Hawaii will never see this rare shrimp, but even if they did they more than likely would not know what they are looking at!
CRITTER: Meet pu’u olai the crowned toby
Toby fish are small pufferfish and each species occupies a different habit in the sea.
CRITTER: Meet lauia the Regal Parrotfish
Most parrotfish in Hawaii are called uhu and we have over five known species and maybe even some crosses between species. One reason it is hard to identify parrotfish is because they are all hatched out as females and then some convert into males for breeding purposes.
CRITTER: Meet mano the Galapagos Shark
In 2016 I was scuba diving at Tunnels Reef (Makua) in Kaua‘i doing a coral study and also spearfishing for roi which is an invasive grouper species that is damaging our coral reef ecosystem here in Hawai‘i. I had just speared a large 18 inch roi and was putting it in my fish bag when a huge shark came out of nowhere and ripped the roi right out of my hands!