| Common name | Niuhi |
| Language | Hawaiian |
| Type | Vernacular |
| Official trade name | No |
| Rank | 3 - (Other common name) |
| Country | Hawaii (USA) |
| Locality | |
| Ref. | Pukui, M.K. and S.H. Elbert, 1986 |
| Life stage | juveniles and adults |
| Sex | females and males |
| Core | |
| 1st modifier | |
| 2nd modifier | |
| Remarks | Meaning man-eating shark. Any Hawaiian shark longer than 3.5 m is probably a "niuhi". Hawaiians believe that "He niuhi 'ai holopapa o ka moku" (the niuhi shark that devours all the island is a powerful warrior). Catching "niuhi" was the game of chiefs. It was a dangerous sport and special techniques were used (usually large amounts of bait were used). Ref. 7364 describes how this was accomplished...."Chiefs went fishing either alone or with companions (sometimes with a large number of retainers) and with the "po'o lawai'a" (the head fisherman) who is a professional fisher acting under orders of the chief through the "kahu" (steward). On shore, there might be one member of the party, the "kilo" (watcher) who signalled where the fish were". Its flesh is taboo to women. |