Hawaiian & Local Fish Names

a'awa
any of the shallow-water wrasses; Bodianus bilunulatus
aha'aha
needlefish; Ablennes hians
ahi
yellowfin tuna - small ones are known locally as shibi or "footballs"
aku
bluefin tuna - small ones are known locally as "rats"
awa
milkfish; chanos chanos
awa'awa
Hawaiian ladyfish; tarpon; Elops hawaiensis; very bony, locally made into fishcake, but a great fighting fish to catch.
kaku
barracuda - delicious fine-texture fish, but older fish can carry ciguatera. Lotsa teeth.
kawakawa
Pacific mackerel or bonito - distinguished from small aku by blue-&-black stripes on its back
mahimahi
dolphinfish or dorado - (no relation to mammilian dolphins - calm down, okay?); deepwater & pelageic; usu. shortened to just mahi
moano
Sidespot goatfish Parupaneus pleurostigmata or Manybar goatfish P. multifasciatus or even the Goldsaddle goat fish P. cyclostomus , more correctly called moano kea
o'ama
baby Orange goatfish (weke'ula), caught seasonally in island stream mouths and used as baitfish for papio
o'io
bonefish; like its name implies, only good for fishcake, but possibly the most exciting local fish to catch & fight. - usu. caught in surf zones
ono
(lit: "delicious") a slim mackeral w/ lotsa teeth; considered by the Hawaiians to be the best-tasting of the tuna family; also known as wahoo by those who lived thru the encounter...
'omilu
(lit: "blue") papio of the blue trevally species; has blue fins & back
o'opu
(lit: "big belly") spotted blowfish, technically a porcupinefish, but who cares?
opelu
Bigeye scad, sold frozen as a 6 -8 inch baitfish, used for mahi & other offshore fish.
papio
any young fish of the trevally or jack family; a trevally caught inshore and/or weighs less than 10 lbs.; a major local native food fish.
papio 'aukea
(lit: white papio) a papio of the Giant trevally (G.T.) specie
roi (Japanese)
peacock grouper, unfortunately becoming a vector for ciguatera toxin on all Islands; Cephalophilois argus; introduced from Indian Ocean.
shibi (Japanese)
immature ahi or yellowfin tuna
table boss (english)
Hawaiian hogfish - in the wrasse family, but better-tasting than the herbivorous parrotfish
uhu
parrotfish - never caught on a line, (they're herbivores)
uku
grey snapper; green jobfish (yuk! Who calls it that?!) Aprions virescens
ulua
any mature fish of the trevally or jack family; a papio weighing over 10 lbs; mature Giant trevally are commonly over 100#
wahanui
(lit: "big mouth"), another "jobfish"; an introduced nearshore food fish found on Molokai, Maui and Big Island - a particularly good-eating small fish (2 - 3 lbs) that is now a major vector for the ciguatera toxin; Aphareus furca
wahoo
kind of a mackeral/tuna with lotsa teeth; also known as ono
weke'ula
Orange goatfish, often shortened to weke
 

Local Food Names & Misc. Hawaiian Words

ceviche (Mexico)
raw fish "cooked" in lime juice and mixed with onions, tomatoes and other veggies
haole
caucasian person, often used as a perjorative
huli
(lit: to turn) roll over; capsize
hulihuli
(lit: to turn many times) smoked meat, usu. chicken; rotisserie chicken
ika (Japanese)
small inshore octopus, confusedly known locally as "squid"; bought frozen as bait for papio
kaukahi
alone; by oneself; also: a one-person canoe.
kaulua
a two-person canoe (see above)
poisson cru (French)
a Tahitian version of ceviche that includes coconut milk
pupu
really unfortunate name, but it means good (finger-)food eaten before or instead of a regular meal. Kayakers live on this stuff...
poke
raw fish mixed with various flavorings like onions, soy sauce, limu (seaweed), sesame seeds, chile peppers, etc. A uniquely Hawaiian delicacy. Often mispronounced poki.
sashimi
Is there really anyone in America who doesn't know what this is? Okay, it's raw fish slices with horseradish and shoyu, best consumed within minutes of catching the fish!
wa'a
canoe, watercraft; in our case, used to mean a paddled boat.