Customer Reviews

Hawaii's Fishes : A Guide for Snorkelers and Divers

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Most kama'ainas and regular visitors who love to snorkel or scuba dive in Hawaii have a shelf of not-quite-complete reference books to help them identify the variety of gorgeous, often unique, fishes they see in Hawaiian waters. Everyone is always trying to find The Book that will help them identify some mystery fish barely glimpsed from a distance and often never seen again. If I could have only one book to help me find that mystery fish, this would be the one. Filled with helpful information describing both the families and specific varieties of fish seen in Hawaiian waters, this book has the best collection of photographs of all the books I've found. Often taken in dramatic close-up, and very artistic in composition, the photographs are all of live fish taken in their natural environments.

This can be both a blessing and a (minor) curse for the snorkeler and scuba diver. Photos which were taken at 30', for example, tend to have a bluish cast, which can distort the color of the fish when they are seen in shallow water of four feet. In addition, a close-up of the head of a particular eel, for example, does not help the snorkeler enough when s/he sees that eel from above, and it's moving at high speed among the rocks twenty feet below. The book is terrific, my favorite reference book, in fact, but for the devoted snorkeler determined to identify every fish s/he sees, I'd recommend that the Guide to Hawaiian Reef Fishes by John E. Randall be consulted as backup.

I am in complete agreement with Mary Whipple's review of this book, I looked very hard and could not find a more comprehensive book than this. I spent the last six weeks on the island of Maui, diving and snorkelling, I did not see one fish that I could not identify through this book. It is simply the book you are looking for when you want to identify fish in Hawaiian waters. The same goes for the other book, on invertebrates, written by Hoover.

I recently went to Hawaii and decided to do some snorkeling for the first time in my life. What a blast!! The variety and colors of fishes and corals are truly stunning and if your are like me you may not be satisfied with just seeing all the pretty colors, you may in fact want to identify the things you are seeing. If thats the case then this book is hands down the most affordable and reliable guide you can purchase when planning that snorkeling vacation in Hawaii.

I found the photos and the text to be very well done and informative. Each family of fish is given a good life history account and species accounts are nice and succinct. There is also great info on where to dive and snorkel while you are in Hawaii and also the fish names are given in English, Latin and Hawaiian.

For a novice like me this book was a great find and it helped me immensely in making some sense of the great variety of fish life I found on the reef. A word of warning however: while its great to be able to identify the fish species you are seeing don't get too caught up in trying to ID everything you come across. For one thing its next to impossible without having a much more technical book than this one. Still this is a great little introductory level book for appreciating the diversity of fish life in Hawaiian waters. Sometimes it is just as rewarding to relax and enjoy the spectacle of the reef life itself without having to try and remember the color patterns on every little fish you encounter. So, purchase this book if you are heading to Hawaii and enjoy the truly stunning world of the coral reef.

The author did an outstanding job compiling the many varieties of reef animals present on Hawaii's reefs and including them in one book. This book has it all if you want to get familar with what you'll most likely run into while diving or snorkeling while in the islands, but one drawback is the author's lack of detail in listing and describing the sites in the first part of the book where you're most likely to see such animals. I specifically wanted to know where to find them and at what depths. Using this book and a good dive or snorkeling guide like the O`ahu Snorkelers and Shore Divers Guide by Francisco B. de Carvalho would make anyone's hunt for photographic opportunities a simple task.

This book features good pictures, meaningful information, lively style, and excellent attention to detail. For example, exact locations and depths are given for each photo. This information is at the end of each species description. Although detailed, it is not at all dry--a fun read in fact!

A look at the reverse of the title page reveals that it has been updated and revised several times, and reprinted 8 times! That is testimony in itself. Also, although not mentioned in the book, the author maintains a website where he posts updates and information on his books. The domain name is the title of the book.

This book has what snorkellers and SCUBA divers demand most from a fish identification book: Plenty of great color pictures on high quality glossy paper. Strong binding and good paper mean that you can take it with you to the water without it falling apart. And if that were not good enough, the text is informative and complete enough for all but the most committed ichthyologist. A keeper.

I bought this book when I was about to go to Hawaii for the first time in my life, to snorkel for the first time in my life. The book made a huge addition to my experience. The pictures are more accurate for fish identification than the cards they give you when you rent snorkel equipment, and of course much more complete. I became personally acquainted with almost 3 dozen different species of fishes; I wouldn't have been able to identify most of them without the book. There is also some interesting background information. If you want to do some serious snokeling in Hawaii and don't already know your fishes, I think you should have this book.

Having searched through numerous books on the reef fish of Hawaii, I'd have to say that this book is by far the best currently available. The photographs are clear, the identifications are correct, and even the Hawaiian names for the fish are correct (and correctly spelled, too)! The book is thorough; many books of similar size do not have the inventory of fish that this guide covers. A "must have" book for the Hawaiian snorkeler and scuba diver.

If you want to identify the fish you see in Hawaii, this is the book to have. In fact, Hoover has a number of marine life guides out and they are all worth checking out. If you see a fish while diving or snorkeling in Hawaii....it's in there. The photographs are colorful and I love the way there are multiple photos for differences in sex or juveniles and adults. If you are doing any research on Hawaiian fish (as i often do in my line of work), you will also need to have a copy this book. Hoover includes general information about each group and then describes each fish in detail. There is information about identification characteristics, anatomical features, feeding habits and he lets you know which species are endemic. Did you know that 25% of the fish you see in Hawaii are endemic. That means that you won't see then anywhere else in the world! This is a great guide to take on your trip to Hawaii! I highly recommend this book!

I just returned from a trip to Hawaii. I had this book and Mr. Hoover's invertebrates book as well. They both were outstanding. My only disappointment with this book was that it did not describe many of the tiny goby-esque fish found in the tide pools. That criticism aside, the book performed wonderfully for identifying fish we saw while we were snorkelling. Mr. Hoover includes a brief description and some interesting facts about each fish species.