Hawaii’s undersea world has long enticed visitors and residents alike, and wildlife is the main attraction. Nowhere else in the Islands can such a bounty of fascinating and colorful animals be seen at such close range. Most are fishes. Coming in all sizes and shapes, they are everywhere—on the bottom, at the surface, under the sand, in caves, even inside other animals. Their vibrant colors are astounding, their shapes sometimes strange beyond belief. Many have developed elaborate mechanisms of defense—balloons, poisons, hypodermic syringes, electric shocks. Others mimic stones, coral, sponges, plants, crabs, each other—anything to survive and multiply. There are fishes that can fly and fishes that can’t swim. Some are as big as a city bus, others the size of a pin. The variety is endless.

Hawaii’s Fishes: A Guide for Snorkelers and Divers presents underwater photographs and informative descriptions of 265 marine fishes—all the species commonly encountered in the Islands. Also included are a chapter on Hawaii’s ever-popular sea turtles, and an illustrated guide to the best snorkel and dive spots on Kauai, Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island, complete with maps and driving directions.

John P. Hoover

Softcover, 208 pp.