News
SpeciesScientists Discover Mysterious New Fish in the Red Sea – and Have Never Seen It AgainOceanEye to eye with Britain's hidden sharks at SharkAdemy - OceanographicRiversIn October, biologists surveying a New York harbor for invasive fish pulled up a bright yellow one. It wasn't an invasive species at allOceanShedd Aquarium Sends Shark Eggs to Bolster Wild PopulationsSpeciesA rare fish has been found in Lake Ontario, North America, whose entire body is golden. It is a nati..OceanThe Great Sea Reef Is Fiji’s Wildest Dive, and a New Frontier for ConservationOceanEckerd College professor contributes to designating Biscayne Bay an Important Shark and Ray AreaSpeciesRio Verde Grande Survey Identifies Fifty-Three Fish Species Facing Flow ReductionsFisheriesAdams River Salmon Run in Thompson-NicolaIndiaHilsa production dropped 26% in five years, fisheries minister tells parliamentSpeciesScientists Discover Mysterious New Fish in the Red Sea – and Have Never Seen It AgainOceanEye to eye with Britain's hidden sharks at SharkAdemy - OceanographicRiversIn October, biologists surveying a New York harbor for invasive fish pulled up a bright yellow one. It wasn't an invasive species at allOceanShedd Aquarium Sends Shark Eggs to Bolster Wild PopulationsSpeciesA rare fish has been found in Lake Ontario, North America, whose entire body is golden. It is a nati..OceanThe Great Sea Reef Is Fiji’s Wildest Dive, and a New Frontier for ConservationOceanEckerd College professor contributes to designating Biscayne Bay an Important Shark and Ray AreaSpeciesRio Verde Grande Survey Identifies Fifty-Three Fish Species Facing Flow ReductionsFisheriesAdams River Salmon Run in Thompson-NicolaIndiaHilsa production dropped 26% in five years, fisheries minister tells parliament
EveryFish
Images provided courtesy of a multi-partnered collaboration between the Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (BFAR-NFRDI), Philippines

Kawakawa

A small, striped tuna of the Indo-Pacific reefs and coasts.

Photo: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The kawakawa is a slender, fast-swimming tuna found across the Indo-Pacific. It lives near coasts and reefs, feeding on squid and fish. While its dark meat has a strong taste, it remains a staple food in many island cultures and is caught for canning.

Share on WhatsApp

  • Grows up to 1.1 metres long and weighs 15 kg
  • Found from the Red Sea to French Polynesia
  • Has twelve oblique stripes on its dark blue back
  • Often eaten as sashimi in Hawaiian culture
  • Carries a risk of ciguatera poisoning from reefs

What it is

This fish belongs to the mackerel family and the tuna tribe. It has a streamlined, elongated body built for speed, ending in a deeply forked tail. The skin is mostly smooth with few scales. Its back is dark blue for camouflage from above, marked by twelve oblique stripes. Between the pelvic and pectoral fins, two or more dark spots are visible. The first dorsal fin contains ten to fifteen spines and stands about one-third of the body height. Adults grow up to 1.1 metres long and weigh as much as 15 kilograms.

Where it lives

The species inhabits the Indo-Pacific region, stretching from the Red Sea eastward to French Polynesia. Populations also occur near Baja California. It is a pelagic animal that migrates widely but prefers coastal environments over the open ocean. It frequents neritic shelves, coastal reefs, and even enters estuaries. The fish thrives in warm waters with temperatures between 18 and 29 degrees Celsius. It swims from the surface down to depths of 200 metres.

How it lives

It is an opportunistic predator that feeds on squid, other fish, crustaceans, and zooplankton. This tuna often forms large schools, sometimes mixing with other species such as yellowfin tuna and frigate mackerel. These multi-species groups help in hunting and protection. Larger predators hunt the kawakawa, including bigger tuna, billfish, sharks, seabirds, and marine mammals. Its presence near reefs and coasts makes it accessible to these diverse hunters.

Kawakawa
A drawing made by EveryFish from what this page says. It is a diagram, not a picture of the real fish.

Fish and people

Fishers in the Indo-Pacific catch this species in significant numbers. The meat is dark red and has a strong flavour, which some consumers find undesirable. However, it is a traditional food in Hawaiian and Oceanic cultures, where it is served as sashimi. Commercially, the catch is canned, sold frozen, or processed into pet food. Because the fish spends time near reefs, there is a risk of ciguatera poisoning, a toxin accumulated from reef organisms.

Une tonine orientale ( Euthynnus affinis ) aux Maldives (atoll de Baa).
Une tonine orientale ( Euthynnus affinis ) aux Maldives (atoll de Baa).. Photo: Julien Bidet, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Euthynnus affinis , Red Sea, Be'er Sheva, Israel
Euthynnus affinis , Red Sea, Be'er Sheva, Israel. Photo: cos-, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Questions people ask about Kawakawa

What does the kawakawa look like?

It has a slender, elongated body with a deeply forked tail. The back is dark blue with twelve oblique stripes. There are dark spots between the pelvic and pectoral fins. It grows up to 1.1 metres long.

Where does this fish live?

It is found in the Indo-Pacific from the Red Sea to French Polynesia and near Baja California. It prefers coastal waters, reefs, and estuaries rather than the open ocean, at depths up to 200 metres.

Is it safe to eat?

Yes, it is commonly eaten in Hawaiian and Oceanic cultures, often as sashimi. However, because it frequents reefs, there is a possibility of ciguatera poisoning. The meat is dark red and has a strong taste.

Good reading and sources

Where this page comes from

The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Euthynnus affinis", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryFish rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.

It may contain mistakes, and figures change over time. Nothing here is investment or buying advice. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-11-15.

Like Kawakawa

All tunas and mackerels
WorldDogtooth tuna A large Indo-Pacific bonito prized by sport anglers.Tuna · Coasts and shelves WorldBullet tuna Small, slender tuna found in tropical oceans worldwide.Tuna · Open ocean WorldBlue mackerel A small, fast pelagic fish found in tropical Indo-Pacific waters.Tuna · Coasts and shelves Bonito WorldBonito Medium-sized predatory fish in the mackerel and tuna familyTuna · Coasts and shelves

More from Scombridae

All of them
WorldAtlantic bonito A mackerel-like game fish of the Atlantic and Mediterranean.Tuna · Coasts and shelves WorldLongtail tuna A slender tropical tuna of the Indo-West Pacific.Tuna · Coasts and shelves Slender tuna WorldSlender tuna A southern ocean tuna with oily flesh and a slender build.Tuna · Open ocean 🇺🇸 United States and 3 morePacific bonito Striped marine fish of the Pacific coastTuna · Coasts and shelves

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly digest

Every Monday: the fish of the day, new pages on EveryFish, and the conferences and anniversaries of the week ahead.