Parrotfishes (scaridae) or UHU in Hawaiian. - Marine Life et cetera

Click on the image of the Spectacled Parrotfish below and you will be taken to galleries that include the most commonly seen Parrotfish on Maui. Parrotfishes are absolutely crucial to the reef, the survival of coral and the ecosystem it supports.

Despite the fact that Parrotfish are often seen chomping away on coral, they are primarily vegetarians or herbivores. They use their large parrot-like mouths and fused teeth to scrape away at coralline algae, seaweed and coral. Once this material enters their throat, it is pulverized by bony plates (pharyngeal jaws ) that act as a second set of teeth. What comes out the other end is approximately 70 – 80% sand. Uhu (the common Hawaiian name for Parrotfish) are believed to be able to produce several hundred pounds of sand per fish, per year .

On Maui, Uhu are a prized eating fish. Unfortunately, overfishing has contributed to the demise of many unprotected reefs. Without healthy populations of Parrotfish and other herbivores to keep the reefs clean of seaweed and algae, the coral slowly suffocates and dies. To get a sense of how much these fish contribute to the cleaning of the reef, take a look at the video of the male Spectacled Parrotfish below — and note that this particular feeding is clearly interrupted by the human hovering above.

Parrotfish have a number of other unusual traits that will be explained on other pages — suffice to say they are often misidentified due to their various stages of gender transformation.

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