The Humphead wrasse or (Cheilinus undulatus) is the largest living member of the family Labridae. The males reaching 2 m in length, while females no more than 1 m. The humphead wrasse has specific distinctive thick, fleshy lips and a hump that forms on its head above the eyes, becoming more prominent as the fish ages. Males have colour range from a bright electric blue to green, a purplish blue, or a relatively dull blue/green.
The Humphead wrasse mainly found in coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific region. This species is long lived, but has a very slow breeding rate. Its numbers have declined due to a number of threats.
Threats include: 1) intensive and species-specific removal in the live reef food fish trade; 2) spearfishing at night with SCUBA gear; 3) destructive fishing techniques, including sodium cyanide and dynamite; 4) habitat loss and degradation; 5) juveniles being taken from the wild and raised or “cultured” in floating net cages until saleable size; 6) a developing export market for juvenile humphead wrasse for the marine aquarium trade; 7) lack of coordinated, consistent national and regional management; and 8) illegal, unregulated, or unreported (IUU) fisheries.
On 25 October 2006, Samoa Post together with WWF organization issued the stamp series featured this fish as listed in the Red list of Threatened species. The local FDC as officially FDC of Samoa Post also issued on the same date.
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