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exposed around the collarbone would indicate a loss of quality. Poor quality fillets have opaque,
milky flesh or they may be cracked.
Product Forms And Yields:
Local
fishermen market their ono as fresh,
whole fish. Most is purchased by up-
scale restaurants in Hawaii and on the
mainland. Some restaurants buy
fillets from intermediary suppliers, but
others prefer to receive the fish
headed and gutted to retain better quality. About 60 to 65% of whole fish weight can be recovered
as fillet (see Table 5). Although one of the best fish for smoking, ono is too expensive to be put to
this use in Hawaii.
IV. Of Special Interest To Consumers/Food Service Personnel
Color, Taste, Texture:
Ono flesh is whiter,
flakier, and has a more delicate texture than
the meat of other fast-swimming, pelagic
species. Although ono may make oceanic
migrations as far as those of tuna and
marlin, it contains less of the strong-tasting “blood meat” muscle that the latter species use for long-
distance swimming.
Preparations:
Although ono is versatile in its uses, cooking methods suitable for “lean” fish (those
with low fat content) are recommended so that the flesh does not dry out when cooked. One way to
retain moisture in a lean fish is to poach.
V. Historical Note
Ono is a Hawaiian word meaning “good to eat.” The ono was said by the ancient Hawaiians to be the
parent of the opelu, a mackerel scad of great importance to the subsistence of the early Hawaiians.
The European explorers who first mapped the Hawaiian Islands found ono to be plentiful off the island
of Oahu. Maps of the time indicate that a very common spelling of the word “Oahu” was “Wahoo,” and
this is believed to be the origin of the fish’s other name.