An interesting fact about O‘opu is that they are amphidromous. What this means is that they spend part of their life in the ocean and part of their life in freshwater habitats. Spawning and hatching of larvae takes place in the stream. After hatching, free embryos (“baby” O‘opu) drift downstream and enter the ocean. Once in the ocean, they spend anywhere from 3-6 months drifting with the ocean currents. After completing this marine phase, they recruit back to the streams where they will spend the remainder of their lives.