Spotlight on Bonefish

April 4, 2011 by Heather 0 Comments

Bonefish, also know as ‘o’io, are easily identified by their long silver bodies, single dorsal fin and wide forked tail. On O’ahu, we have spotted several bonefish congregating near the jetty and shallow reef areas in the MLCD. The two species of bonefish in Hawai’i, the Round jaw and Sharp jaw bonefish, are very hard to distinguish between as you need to look at the underside of the jaw and mouth. Check this page to see the differences in jaw shape.

Bonefish are a very popular game fish for recreational, saltwater fly-fishermen around the world. Unfortunately, the Hawai’i bonefish population is in decline due to fishing pressure. Thus, the Oceanic Institute and the Hawaii Cooperative Fishery Research Unit have a tagging program for ‘o’io. I also recommend reading this article from 2007: Hawaii ‘O’io: Past, Present and Future.