ABSTRACT 



The cichlid fish, Tilapia mossambica, introduced to Hawaii in 1951 by the Territorial Division 

 of Fish and Game, now has a wide distribution in the islands. During the summer of 1956, tilapia 

 were seined from fresh-water ponds and irrigation reservoirs, acclimatized to sea water, and tested 

 at sea as skipjack bait. The results indicated that tilapia, while inferior in some respects to the na- 

 tive bait (nehu), possessed many desirable qualities. It was concluded that if small tilapia could be 

 produced in large volume at a reasonable price they might alleviate the great need in the Hawaiian 

 skipjack fishery for additional bait supplies. The rearing of tilapia for bait purposes cannot be done 

 most effectively, however, in the presently available ponds and reservoirs with little control over the 

 cannibalistic traits of the species, of predation by other animals, and with the difficulty of harvesting 

 the fish efficiently at an optimum size. 



