April 24, 2026

Research shows predatory fish prefer invasive mullet to native fish

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HONOLULU — Researchers from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, University of California at Santa Barbara and Paepae O He‘eia have found that predatory fish species such as jacks and barracuda prefer the invasive Australian mullet over native mullet, moi and awa at He‘eia fishpond.


What You Need To Know

    • Prior to western contact, traditional fishponds, or loko i‘a, played an essential role in food production for the Native Hawaiian people
    • Predatory fish such as jacks and barracuda were known to eat native fish in the fishponds and would have to be removed periodically
  • Researchers studying He‘eia fishpond found the predatory fish preferred the invasive Australian mullet that was introduced to Oahu waters in the 1950s

This finding suggests that native predatory fish may provide a form of biocontrol on populations of the invasive mullet species. The study was published in “Aquaculture, Fish and Fisheries,”

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