Some say that the name "Wahoo" is a derivation of the name of the Hawaiian Island Oahu, which was sometimes spelled Wahoo. The fish is also known as Ono, after the Hawaiian word for "delicious", ‘ono.
The body is elongate and covered with small scales; the back is an iridescent blue green, while the sides are silvery, with a pattern of vertical blue bars. The mouth is large, and both the upper and lower jaws have a somewhat sharp appearance. Specimens have been recorded at up to 2.5 m (8 ft) in length, and weighing up to 83 kg (183 lbs).
Wahoos tend to be solitary or occur in loose-knit groups rather than in schools. Their diet consists mostly of other fish and squid.
The flesh of the Wahoo is delicate and white and regarded as very good in quality. This flesh has created some demand for the wahoo as a commercial food fish, but its solitary lifestyle makes large-scale commercial fishing largely inefficient. In many parts of the world it is pursued as popular sport fishing trophy.
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