This book contains a descriptive list of Hawaiian fishes, identified by both Hawaiian and scientific names, and is illustrated with the author’s line drawings and black-and-white reproductions of eighteen watercolors by R.C. Barnfield, a British artist who lived in Hawaii for a few years in the 1890’s. Also included are any of the old myths and legends associated with fishing and with the fish gods of the Hawaiian pantheon. 

Originally published as a supplement to the Journal of the Polynesian Society, this work was compiled by the author with the help of Mary Kawena Pukui, translator of Hawaiian manuscripts and records for the Bishop Museum and co-author of the Hawaiian Dictionary. Written primarily for the layman, this book with its wealth of ethnographic information will also be valuable to those studying the cultures of Oceanic peoples.