Fish swim just below the surface in surging water. The big fish are highfin chubs and the smaller fish are acute halfbeaks.
A study in blue
Tag Archives: Needlefish
Crocodile needlefish
Crocodile needlefish are big enough that I sometimes mistake them for barracudas when I first see them. Like many of the different needlefish I see, they have a tendency to swim in circles around me when I encounter them.
On this day, I came on a largish shoal of crocodile needlefish milling about on the edge of a shallow area of the reef. The water was relatively clear and the sun illuminated them in such a way that their blue and silver sides shone quite beautifully.
Keeltail needlefish
When snorkeling, the tendency is to look down where numerous reef fish can be seen darting through rocks and coral. Needlefish, on the other hand, are surface swimmers and, as such, can be a little unnerving. Many times I’ve looked up and found myself in the midst of a shoal of needlefish, circling around me. At such times, I try not to think of Custer’s Last Stand.
In my attempts to identify what I see in the water, I use John P. Hoover’s book The Ultimate Guide to Hawaiian Reef Fishes, Sea Turtles, Dolphins, Whales, and Seals. His website is hawaiisfishes.com.
Graham's Island 