# Chinese bahaba > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Chinese_bahaba > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Chinese_bahaba.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_bahaba > Source revision: 1328121897 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Species of fish}} {{Speciesbox | image = | status = CR | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=Liu, M. |date=2020 |title=''Bahaba taipingensis'' |volume=2020 |article-number=e.T61334A130105307 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T61334A130105307.en |access-date=13 November 2021}} | taxon = Bahaba taipingensis | authority = ([Herre](/source/Albert_William_Herre), 1932) | synonyms = {{Specieslist | Nibea taipingensis | Herre, 1932 | Otolithes lini | Herre, 1935 | Nibea flavolabiata | [Lin](/source/Shu-Yan_Lin), 1935 | Bahaba flavolabiata | (Lin, 1935) }} | synonyms_ref = {{FishBase|Bahaba|taipingensis|month=February|year=2023}} }} The '''Chinese bahaba''' ('''''Bahaba taipingensis'''''), also known as the '''giant yellow croaker''',Moore, M. (21 August 2012). [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/9489137/Chinese-fisherman-hooks-300000-fish.html Chinese fisherman hooks £300,000 fish.] The Telegraph. Retrieved 18 May 2019. is a [critically endangered](/source/critically_endangered) species of marine and [brackish](/source/brackish) water [fish](/source/fish) in the family [Sciaenidae](/source/Sciaenidae). It is a large fish, reaching lengths up to {{convert|2|m|abbr=on}} and weights of {{convert|100|kg|abbr=on}}. It is found on the coast of [China](/source/China), from the [Yangtze River](/source/Yangtze_River) estuary southwards to the [Pearl River](/source/Pearl_River_(China)) estuary, including the waters of [Hong Kong](/source/Hong_Kong) and [Macau](/source/Macau). Its natural [habitat](/source/habitat)s are [shallow seas](/source/Shallow_water_marine_environment), subtidal aquatic beds, [rocky shores](/source/Rocky_shore), and [estuarine](/source/estuarine) waters.{{Cite journal | last1 = Wang | first1 = Y. | last2 = Hu | first2 = M. | last3 = Sadovy | first3 = Y. | last4 = Cheung | first4 = S. G. | last5 = Shin | first5 = P. K. S. | title = Threatened fishes of the world: ''Bahaba taipingensis'' Herre, 1932 (Sciaenidae) | doi = 10.1007/s10641-009-9507-2 | journal = Environmental Biology of Fishes | volume = 85 | issue = 4 | pages = 335–336| year = 2009 | bibcode = 2009EnvBF..85..335W | s2cid = 574438 }} ==Distribution== The Chinese bahaba is known only from the parts of China from the Yangtze River southwards to Hong Kong. It enters estuaries to spawn and in the past it was seasonally numerous in this habitat. This includes the estuaries of the Yangtze River, the [Min River](/source/Min_River_(Fujian)) and the Pearl River and around the coast of [Zhoushan Island](/source/Zhoushan_Island). ==Behaviour== The Chinese bahaba is a [benthopelagic](/source/Benthic-pelagic_coupling) fish that feeds mostly on crustaceans such as shrimps and crabs. ==Conservation status== Annual catches of 50 tonnes were taken in the 1930s, but this had dwindled to 10 tonnes per year by the 1950s and 1960s when few large fish were caught. The Chinese bahaba is threatened by [overfishing](/source/overfishing) and it is listed as [critically endangered](/source/critically_endangered) by the [International Union for Conservation of Nature](/source/International_Union_for_Conservation_of_Nature). Degradation of its estuarine spawning habitats may also have contributed to its decline.{{Cite journal | last1 = Sadovy | first1 = Y. | last2 = Cheung | first2 = W. L. | doi = 10.1046/j.1467-2979.2003.00104.x | title = Near extinction of a highly fecund fish: the one that nearly got away | journal = Fish and Fisheries | volume = 4 | pages = 86–99| year = 2003 | issue = 1 | bibcode = 2003AqFF....4...86S }} Although listed as a Grade II State Protected Species in China, which is supposed to restrict its capture, the sale of recently caught individuals to very high prices still occurs, and is even announced to the media.Bindley, K. (21 August 2012). [https://www.huffpost.com/entry/473000-bahaba-fish-caught_n_1818083 Bahaba Fish Worth $473,000 Caught, Sold In China.] HuffPost. Retrieved 18 May 2019.Platt, J. (16 February 2010). {{Cite web |url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=downcast-critically-endangered-baha-2010-02-16 |title=Downcast: Critically endangered bahaba caught and sold for $500,000 |website=[Scientific American](/source/Scientific_American) |access-date=17 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110702110350/http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=downcast-critically-endangered-baha-2010-02-16 |archive-date=2 July 2011 |url-status=bot: unknown }}. Scientific American. A part of the Pearl River estuary has been protected since 2005 by the Chinese Government in an attempt saving the species. Unlike the Chinese mainland, there is no legal protection of this species in Hong Kong, despite it being rare there, and that the [World Wildlife Fund](/source/World_Wildlife_Fund) and fisheries scientists at the [University of Hong Kong](/source/University_of_Hong_Kong) have recommended its protection to the local government.Christie, L. (14 April 2016). [https://yp.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/103177/ryan-ma-out-save-chinese-bahaba Ryan Ma is out to save the Chinese bahaba.] yp.scmp.com. Retrieved 18 May 2019. Chinese bahaba caught in Hong Kong are also sometimes transferred to the Chinese mainland where resold.Reuters (25 April 2008). [https://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSHAR55771320080425 Anglers let big cash bonanza get away]. Retrieved 18 May 2019. The fishing is prompted by the value placed on the [swim bladder](/source/swim_bladder)s of this fish for use in [traditional Chinese medicine](/source/traditional_Chinese_medicine). In some markets, notably the Chinese markets, a good specimen swim bladder fetches more than its weight in gold. As the population of the Chinese bahaba declined, some trade shifted towards the closely related [totoaba](/source/totoaba) (''Totoaba macdonaldi'') of Mexico, a species that now also is seriously threatened.Juarez, Lorenzo M.; Pablo A. Konietzko; and Michael H. Schwarz (15 December 2016). [https://www.was.org/articles/Totoaba-Aquaculture-and-Conservation-From-sea-of-cortez.aspx Totoaba Aquaculture and Conservation: Hope for an Endangered Fish from Mexico's Sea of Cortez.] WAS. Retrieved 18 May 2019.Hance, J. (11 January 2016). [https://www.theguardian.com/environment/radical-conservation/2016/jan/11/china-aquatic-cocaine-vaquita-totoaba-mexico-endangered-extinct China's craze for 'aquatic cocaine' is pushing two species into oblivion.] The Guardian. Retrieved 18 May 2019. ==See also== * [List of endangered and protected species of China](/source/List_of_endangered_and_protected_species_of_China) ==References== {{Reflist}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q703327}} Category:Bahaba Category:Endemic fish of China Category:Fauna of Hong Kong Category:Critically endangered fish Category:Critically endangered fauna of Asia Category:Fish described in 1932 Category:Taxa named by Albert William Herre Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Category:Critically endangered fauna of China --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Chinese bahaba](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_bahaba) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_bahaba?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.