Lateolabrax japonicus, Japanese seabass : fisheries, aquaculture, gamefish

Lateolabrax japonicus (Cuvier, 1828)

Japanese seabass
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Lateolabrax japonicus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Lateolabrax japonicus (Japanese seabass)
Lateolabrax japonicus
Picture by Lai, N.-W.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Acropomatiformes (Oceanic basses) > Lateolabracidae (Asian seaperches)
Etymology: Lateolabrax: Greek, latos, a fish of the Nile + Greek, labrax, -akos = a fish (Dicentrarchus labrax) (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Cuvier.

Taxonomic Remarks
Junior synonym Lateolabrax maculatus considered as a valid species reported to be widely distributed (Japan, only in the Ariake Sea and off Nagasaki; China (off all coasts), Taiwan, and Korea (usually off the southern and western coasts) (Ref. 118669)

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; freshwater; brackish; reef-associated; catadromous (Ref. 36558); depth range 5 - ? m. Subtropical; 44°N - 15°N, 106°E - 143°E

Distribution Territories | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Western Pacific: Japan to the South China Sea.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?, range 50 - ? cm
Max length : 102 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 40637); common length : 16.1 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 35840); max. published weight: 8.7 kg (Ref. 40637)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 12 - 15; Dorsal soft rays (total): 12 - 14; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 7 - 9.
Body shape (shape guide): fusiform / normal.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Found in moving water of inshore rocky reefs. Juveniles may ascend rivers and return to sea to spawn. Protandrous, sex change happens after maturation at age 2 (Ref. 36558). Spawning occurs during winter, in deeper rocky reefs or inshore areas. Predaceous, feeding on zooplankton at an early age and on small fish and shrimps as adults (Ref. 12497). Utilized as a food fish (Ref. 559). Family placement uncertain (Ref. 1830). Used in Chinese medicine (Ref. 12166).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Males mature at age 2 years, becoming females when older (Ref. 36558). Juveniles may ascend rivers migrating to the sea to spawn (Ref. 36558).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Paxton, J.R., D.F. Hoese, G.R. Allen and J.E. Hanley, 1989. Pisces. Petromyzontidae to Carangidae. Zoological Catalogue of Australia, Vol. 7. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, 665 p. (Ref. 7300)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2 (Global))

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 09 January 2023

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes
FAO - Aquaculture systems: production searchFisheries: landings search; Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
Spawning aggregations
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Distribution
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Anatomy
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Physiology
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
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Toxicity (LC50s)
Genetics
Genome
Genetics
Heterozygosity
Heritability
Genetic Diversity
Human related
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Aquaculture profiles
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Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
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Common names
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References
References

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Alien/Invasive Species database | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Aquaculture systems: production searchFisheries: landings search; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | National databases | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index
(Ref. 82804) 		PD50 = 1.0000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight a=0.01259 (0.00885 - 0.01790), b=3.02 (2.92 - 3.12), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level
(Ref. 69278) 		3.1   ±0.3 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience
(Ref. 120179) 		Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.14-0.2; tm=2; Fec=1,726,242).
Fishing Vulnerability
(Ref. 59153) 		Moderate to high vulnerability (52 of 100). 🛈
Climate Vulnerability
(Ref. 125649) 		Moderate to high vulnerability (54 of 100). 🛈
Price category
(Ref. 80766) 		Very high.
Nutrients
(Ref. 124155) 		Calcium = 16.5 [8.1, 32.0] mg/100g; Iron = 0.471 [0.277, 0.738] mg/100g; Protein = 20.1 [19.0, 21.0] %; Omega3 = 0.212 [0.131, 0.340] g/100g; Selenium = 24.4 [12.4, 44.2] μg/100g; VitaminA = 24.7 [8.1, 76.3] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.756 [0.525, 1.096] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.