HAWAIIAN ISLANDS 



larly during August, September and October although they 

 are present all year round. It was the Allison tuna that pri- 

 marily attracted me to Honolulu as it is by all odds the fastest 

 and hardest fighting member of the tuna family besides being 

 one of the most beautiful fish that swims. Its companions in 

 pulchritude are the dolphin, striped marlin, blue and black 

 marlin and Pacific sailfish. The Allison tuna is called ahi in 

 the islands, which means "ball of fire," and I consider this 

 a perfectly appropriate name. These fish are caught in great 

 numbers on the grounds at Wainae, which is only a fifty- 

 minute run by automobile from Honolulu. Allison tuna 

 attain a weight of 400 pounds or more, with the world's 

 record caught on rod and reel standing at 285 pounds and 

 held by James Harvey of Honolulu. Many of the species are 

 taken by commercial fishermen. The scientists now state this 

 fish is the true yellowfin tuna all over the world, and the yel- 

 lowfins are big-eyes. I doubt this and will always argue the 

 matter. Big-eyes are taken here, only by fishing deep. 



Precious little is known about any members of the tuna 

 family and information regarding the Allison is especially 

 meager. He was named by the late Louis L. Mowbray, cura- 

 tor of the government aquarium at Flatts, Bermuda, after 

 James L. Allison of Indianapolis, Indiana, who founded a 

 museum in Miami, Florida. Allison tuna have been erro- 

 neously called the "long yellowfin tuna" but actually are 

 cousins of this Pacific species. It has also been argued that 

 they are merely an older generation of the yellowfin species. 

 Yet small specimens weighing under 40 pounds and with the 

 same major characteristics of the heavier fish have been taken 

 off Bermuda and elsewhere. These characteristics include 



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