Hawaii's Fishes : A Guide for Snorkelers and Divers

Bought this for my girlfriend who was just scuba certified. She loves it

If you are going to snorkel in Hawaii and you want to be able to identify the fish you see this book is basically all you will need. There is a brief intro highlighting some top snorkeling locations on each island, and then the remainder of the book is devoted to identification. The book is neither dry nor rambling; it's gets down to the business of identifying, describing, and admiring without delay. That said, the tone is congenial and personable and descriptions have an amiable conversational feel.A word of caution, though. Unlike many of the birder and similar books I've seen this book is not set up to lead the reader to an identification by process of elimination. You don't start with size, then shape, then color, then distinguishing features, (or a similar scheme), on your way to an identification. Rather, the book is set up with a chapter on each genus, with a variety of species addressed in each chapter. So, we start with "Angelfishes", and then identify the Bandit, Fisher's, Flame, Potter's, and Masked Angelfish. After that we move to Barracudas, Bigeyes, Blennies, and so on.What that means is that for any particular fish that you see or photograph you have to have a general idea of which chapter to start with. That's not as hard as it sounds since once you've paged through the book once or twice you'll have a good general sense of what there is to see, and a sense of whether something might be a puffer fish or a surgeon fish.Once you narrow down the search to the proper chapter you will be in good shape. Every fish description is accompanied by a sharp, full color closeup photo with dimensions around 2.5" x 3". There is a detailed text description of the fish's physical characteristics and then a bit about the habits, history, or other distinguishing features of the fish.So, with about 250 species represented this book proved to be a thorough and entertaining reference. After seven days of snorkeling a variety of beaches we found that almost everything we saw was identified in this book. Can't ask for much more than that.

I bought this book because I was going scuba diving off Oahu. This is a great comprehensive overview of many species, including endemic ones! I love the organization of the book, the bright colors, the dive/snorkel guide, the species descriptions, and the fact that they included the Hawaiian names as well. This makes my 4th book from John P. Hoover, and probably not my last.

I am greatly enjoying this compact book. The photos are beautiful and it is extremely helpful in identifying species. Highly recommended for the Hawaiian traveler or native.Every day upon returning from snorkeling/diving, I reach for this book and am typically able to identify exactly what I saw. As a result, I can now identify many more fish and also varieties (eg. black vs wedgetail vs lagoon triggerfish, all of which I saw today).

Christmas gift

Loved it and used a lot during Hawaii trip.

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 as an author), 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!This books is also a great reference for getting the right colors in children's coloring books like:  The Complete Hawaiian Reef Fish Coloring Book , and  Coral Reef Coloring Book (Naturencyclopedia Series)

Bought this as part of Hubby's Xmas pressie and he loves it. Really nice to identify fish in Maui and learn about them. Would definitely recommend. Shipped quickly.

Excellent

Have a look at this book before your first snorkel and enjoy it even more. It is fun to know what you are looking at and how many different species you really did see.

Good for referencing when you snorkel.