154 H aw aiian F is h e s 



The mackerels and tunas make an important family of food fishes. 

 They are nearly all valued as food and support fishing industries wherever 

 they are found. They have a firm, oily flesh which is often coarse in texture. 



Of more than sixty known species in the family, at least thirteen are 

 known from Hawaiian waters. 



Opelu 



Also known as the Tinker Mackerel, Pacific Chub Mackerel, Opelu 



Palahu, Opelu Paka, Saba or Japanese Mackerel 



75-1 Scomber japonicus Houttuyn 



Drawn from Jordan & Evermann 



The opelu has a somewhat longer body than most mackerels. It is 

 bluish in color above with about thirty darker streaks or zig-zag bands 

 along each side of the back. The lower surface is paler in color and has 

 many inconspicuous spots scattered over the surface. The entire body has 

 brilliant silvery and blue reflections. The jaw is without teeth. This fish 

 measures about fifteen inches in length. 



In Hawaii the opelu is a seasonal fish appearing during the summer 

 months. In anticipation and preparation of the simimer fishing, the 

 Hawaiians made elaborate religious preparation marked with ritual, 

 prayers, and tabus. For further accounts of these ancient practices see 

 Fornander, Abraham — Hawaiian Antiquities and Folklore. Bernice P. 

 Bishop Museum Memoirs 6:1, 1919, pp. 30-34. 



The opelu occurs in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It is 

 common in the Mediterranean Sea and off the coast of southern California. 

 On the Atlantic coast it has had a sporadic history. 



Frigate Mackerel or Mexican Skipjack 



75-2 Auxis thazard (Lacepede) 

 The frigate mackerel is dark bluish green above and silvery beneath. 

 The sides of the body above the lateral line and behind the corselet are 



