Ask almost anyone in the islands to name the Hawaii state fish and you will get a grin before you get an answer — because the answer is the wonderfully unpronounceable humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa. This little reef triggerfish carries one of the longest names in the Hawaiian language, a personality to match, and a story that reaches all the way back to the demigod Māui. Here is everything worth knowing about Hawaiʻi’s official state fish, from how to say its name to where you can meet one on the reef.
What is the humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa?
The humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa is the reef, or wedge-tail, triggerfish — scientifically Rhinecanthus rectangulus. It is a small, boldly patterned fish, usually growing to about 10 inches (25 cm) long. You will know it instantly: a pale body washed in tan and gold, a bright white belly, blue-lined lips, and a dramatic black wedge that sweeps back from the eye like war paint. Fine yellow lines trace the pattern, and the tail fans out in soft brown.
Triggerfish get their English name from a clever bit of anatomy. The first spine of the dorsal fin can be locked upright by a smaller second spine, like the trigger and hammer of a gun. When the fish darts into a crevice in the reef and raises that spine, it wedges itself in so tightly that almost nothing can pull it out. It is a portable lock, and the humuhumu uses it every night to sleep safely in the coral.
How do you say — and spell — that name?
Break it into pieces and it comes apart easily: humu-humu-nuku-nuku-āpuaʻa. It is often written with the ʻokina (the glottal stop) and the kahakō (the macron over the ā). The literal translation is one of the most charming in the language: “triggerfish with a snout like a pig.”
Humuhumu means to fit pieces together, or to stitch — a nod to the way the fish wedges itself into the reef. Nukunuku means snout or nose, and āpuaʻa means pig. Hawaiians noticed that when the fish is disturbed it can make a soft grunting sound, a little like a pig, and that its blunt snout resembles a boar’s. Put it together and you have a name that is really a tiny, vivid description.
The fish and the demigod
The humuhumu also appears in Hawaiian legend. In some tellings, the demigod Kamapuaʻa — the shape-shifting pig-god who could take the form of a man, a boar, or a fish — escaped his enemies by diving into the sea and turning himself into the humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa. That is one reason the “pig” lives on in the fish’s name. Stories like this are a reminder that in Hawaiian thinking the land, the sea, and the beings that move between them are all woven from the same family. If you love how these threads connect, our journal is full of them — you might enjoy reading about the ocean guardians of the islands in our Ocean & Wildlife collection and the stories behind them.
How it became the official state fish
The humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa was first named Hawaiʻi’s state fish in 1985, but only on a five-year trial — and when that period lapsed, the title quietly expired. For nearly two decades the state technically had no official fish at all. Islanders never stopped calling the humuhumu their own, though, and in 2006 the Hawaiʻi State Legislature made it permanent. Today it is one of the most beloved state symbols in the country, printed on everything from license plates to beach towels.
Where to see one
The good news for visitors is that the humuhumu is common and easy to spot. It lives on shallow reefs and rocky flats around all the Hawaiian Islands, usually in water less than 30 feet deep — exactly where snorkelers tend to be. Look for it hovering near the bottom, picking at algae, or nosing into the sand for small invertebrates. It is a busy, curious little fish that rarely holds still.
- Hanauma Bay, Oʻahu — the calm, protected reef is one of the most reliable places to see humuhumu up close.
- Molokini Crater, Maui — crystal-clear water and healthy reef make for easy spotting.
- Kealakekua Bay and the Kona coast, Hawaiʻi Island — sheltered coves full of reef life right in our own backyard.
A quick word of aloha for the reef: give the humuhumu and its neighbors plenty of space, never touch or chase them, and wear only reef-safe sunscreen so the coral they depend on stays healthy for the next generation.
Why we love the humuhumu
There is something perfectly Hawaiian about a fish whose name is longer than its body — a small, bright, hard-working creature that carries a demigod’s story and a whole language’s sense of humor on its back. The humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa is a reminder that the islands’ wonders are not only the volcanoes and waterfalls, but the tiny lives darting through the coral just beneath the surface.
Bring the islands home: Explore our Ocean & Wildlife Collection — original designs from our Native Hawaiian–owned studio in Kailua-Kona, Hawaiʻi. Here are a few of the newest additions:
Manta Ray Night Snorkel Kona Poster — a digital oil painting of Kona’s famous manta ray night dive, ready for your wall.
Honu Sea Turtle Poster — the beloved Hawaiian green sea turtle gliding over the reef in painterly detail.
Hawaii Night Owl (Pueo) Tee — an aloha tee honoring the pueo, Hawaiʻi’s native owl and family guardian.
Reef Safe Hawaiʻi Tee — wear your love for the reef that the humuhumu calls home.
Sea Turtle Rescue Tee — a conservation-minded aloha tee for honu lovers and ocean stewards.
Keep reading from the Kahana Designs journal
- Hawaiian Ocean Wildlife: Honu, Whales, Dolphins & More
- Honu: The Sacred Sea Turtle of the Hawaiian Islands
- Humpback Whale Season in Hawaiʻi
- Spinner Dolphins of the Kona Coast
- Reef-Safe Sunscreen in Hawaiʻi: What to Know
Header photo: Brian Gratwicke, CC BY 2.0.