Introduction of the Marquesan Sardine, Harengula vittata 
(Cuvier and Valenciennes), to Hawaiian Waters 
Garth I. Murphy 1 
A PROGRAM of introduction of the Marquesan 
sardine was undertaken by the Bureau of Com- 
mercial Fisheries, Hawaii Area, at the request of 
the Hawaii Division of Fish and Game. The ob- 
jective was to introduce a species of fish to the 
Hawaiian Islands that would be suitable as 
tuna bait in order to supplement the somewhat 
tenuous supply of the nehu, Stolephoms pur- 
pureus Fowler. The stimulus for the request and 
the subsequent program stemmed from the fact 
that the fish fauna of the Hawaiian Islands is 
notable for the number of endemic species and 
the absence of many forms that are common in 
the central Pacific islands to the south. Gosline 
(1955) proposed that the migration route of 
shore fishes to Hawaii is from the south and 
that Johnston Island, some 600 miles south of 
the Hawaiian chain, is the stepping stone. He 
suggests that the failure of many forms to reach 
Hawaii can be attributed to the large over-water 
distance to be traversed in crossing first to John- 
ston Island and then to Hawaii, to possible 
ecological screening of fishes at Johnston Island, 
and finally to the possibility that the Hawaiian 
Islands do not offer the necessary habitat for 
certain of the absent forms, especially in regard 
to species missing in Hawaii but found at John- 
ston Island. 
The Marquesan sardine was first recorded as 
tuna bait by Royce ( 1954) , who found them to 
be abundant and accessible in the Marquesas and 
suitable for tuna fishing. Additional factors sug- 
gested that they would be a useful and success- 
ful species in Hawaii. They were found along 
the surf line in the Marquesas but generally 
along rocky, sandy, sheltered beaches, a habitat 
not usually frequented by the nehu. (Thus, it 
did not seem likely that they would compete di- 
rectly with the nehu.) The Marquesas are high, 
volcanic islands as are the Hawaiian Islands and, 
1 Fishery Research Biologist, Bureau of Commercial 
Fisheries, Hawaii Area, Honolulu, Hawaii. Manuscript 
received November 17, 1958. 
with the exception of the scarcity of coral in the 
Marquesas, appear to represent the same general 
type of environment as the Hawaiian Islands. 
Negative factors relative to the introduction 
are the somewhat cooler water temperatures 
in Hawaii and the fact that our seasons are 
reversed. 
Ordinarily, such an expensive project as trans- 
ferring a marine fish from 10° south of the 
Equator to 20° north of the Equator would not 
be undertaken without an extensive investiga- 
tion of the fish’s life history to evaluate the 
chances of successful introduction and to weigh 
thoroughly the possibility that the species might 
do harm in the new area. The possibility of 
harm seemed remote, and the expense not crit- 
ical because a program of introduction could be 
incorporated in an investigation of the Mar- 
quesas area by the Pacific Oceanic Fishery In- 
vestigations ( now known as the Bureau of 
Commercial Fisheries, Hawaii Area). 
The several releases in Hawaiian waters 
(Table 1) were made as close to shore as opera- 
tionally feasible and in habitat situations that 
were regarded as suitable for the Marquesan 
sardine. Examination of the gonads of the sar- 
dines in Marquesas waters suggested that nearly 
all of the individuals brought to Hawaii were 
young, mature adults. 
In lieu of an extensive recovery program, 
wide publicity was given to the releases and a 
special poster, which included a photograph of 
the sardine, was widely distributed throughout 
Hawaii wherever fishermen were likely to con- 
gregate. The poster was especially directed to 
tuna fishermen because they use fine mesh nets 
when fishing for the nehu. Relying primarily 
on tuna fishermen for recoveries has several ob- 
vious advantages and one serious disadvantage, 
for one would expect that the Marquesan sar- 
dine would not be most abundant in the same 
habitat as the nehu. 
It is not the purpose of this discussion to 
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