maya hamlet
Hypoplectrus maya · Serranidae · predator
Blue hamlet endemic to Belize, with mangrove roots, endangered by reef degradation and pollution.
Also called: badejo-maia, maya hamlet
- maximum
- 9 cm
the right time
to be on the water
Choose the place and the species. The index, from 0 to 100, combines weather, sun, moon and tide with each fish's habits. Up to 28 days, with each day's confidence.
Reading the weather across 3 global models and 31 simulations…
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hour by hour
slide your finger or mouse over the chart to see each hoursee hour-by-hour table
why this index at —?
choose the day
Each card shows the day's index (0 to 100) and, below it, a strip with the index for each hour, from 0h to 23h. from poor to excellent.
the fishing month at a glance
what's the best window for the crew?
Choose how many fishing days. We compare each stretch by its average index, discount days with a warning or closed season, and show the 3 best.
trend for the coming weeks
Line: the middle value of 31 simulations of the American GEFS model. Band: where 8 out of 10 fall. Narrow, firm trend; wide, high uncertainty.
everything about the maya hamlet
who is the maya hamlet
The Maya hamlet belongs to the family Serranidae and reaches 8.7 cm. It is endemic to Belize, where it lives on shallow reefs and among mangrove roots, over seagrass beds. It tends to prey on small silvery fish, which gather by day among the roots. The threats are climate change, coral reef degradation and pollution, since it lives near densely populated coastal areas. It is caught commercially. Being endemic, it occurs only in Belize.
Essential profile. Identification, where it occurs and rules, with data from FishBase and the cited regulations. Season, time of day, technique and bait are added once we have a good source for the maya hamlet; in the meantime, see the similar species.
fun facts
- Its color resembles that of a tunicate that grows on the same mangrove roots, which may be a form of camouflage.
identification
Deep, bright blue all over the body, without spots and without black edges on the fins, except on the upper and lower edges of the tail. Almost identical to the blue hamlet (Hypoplectrus gemma) of Florida and Yucatán, from which it differs only by those black tail edges. In Belize it differs from the bronze hamlet, which is light brown with snout spots, and from the black hamlet, which is almost entirely black. It has a short, deep body.
where found
In Latin America it is endemic to Belize, where it occurs on shallow reefs.
Habitat: Shallow reefs and mangrove roots over seagrass beds.
rules for the maya hamlet
Summary of the regulations we found, with the source for each. Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency.
We found no species-specific rule beyond the region's general rules.
catch and release
catch and release Releasing the fish alive, quickly and with a wet hand. During a closed season it isn't always allowed: what the regulation says applies.
It poses no danger to the angler. It is a species threatened by reef degradation: release the fish if you catch one.
how much it weighs without taking it out of the water
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.01778, b = 3.03; FishBase (relação peso-comprimento bayesiana, estimativa)). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.
estimated weight
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sources and references
Essential profile: size, length-weight, depth, countries and conservation come from FishBase and the cited regulations, and the texts were written from those sources. Season, time of day, sensitivities, technique and baits and lures are not included yet, because we did not find a good source for this species.
- scientific FishBase: Hypoplectrus maya (ficha da espécie)Size, length-weight, depth, habitat, distribution, biology, and IUCN status. Page checked on Oct 13, 2026.
- scientific FishBase: nomes populares de Hypoplectrus mayaNames by country and language.
similar species
where each number comes from
The weather comes from three independent global models, cross-checked hour by hour: when they agree, confidence goes up; when they diverge, the band between them shows on the chart. Beyond 16 days, we use the GEFS ensemble of 31 simulations: if 20 of the 31 predict rain, the chance of rain is 65%. Sun and moon are calculated astronomically, with no uncertainty.
The index adds up, weighted for each species: time of day (species curve anchored to real sunrise and sunset), moon (transits, rise and set, phase), pressure (3 h trend and 24 h swing), water temperature (in rivers, estimated from air temperature; at sea, estimated by an ocean model), wind, rain, clouds, tide and the month in the species' cycle.
sources for this lookup
how accurate the forecast is
Accuracy measured in the reference project (4 regions, 93 days, forecast vs. observed): maximum temperature is off by 0.6 °C on average the next day and 1.7 °C at 7 days; rain of 5 mm or more is detected 76% of the time the next day and 57% at 7 days. Detection isn't everything: the false alarm rate isn't published here yet, and 93 days in 4 regions is still a small sample. We now also measure every day, at the app's destinations: