Japanese sea bass

{{Short description|Species of fish}} {{Other uses|Suzuki (disambiguation)}} {{Speciesbox | image = Suzuki201302.jpg | status = | status_system = | status_ref = | taxon = Lateolabrax japonicus | authority = (Cuvier, 1828) | synonyms = * ''Labrax japonicus'' Cuvier, 1828 * ''Percalabrax japonicus'' (Cuvier, 1828) * ''Holocentrum maculatum'' McClelland, 1844 * ''Lateolabrax maculatus'' (McClelland, 1844) * ''Percalabrax poecilonotus'' Dabry de Thiersant, 1872 * ''Percalabrax spilonotus'' Dabry de Thiersant, 1872 * ''Percalabrax tokionensis'' Döderlein, 1883 }}

The '''Japanese sea bass''' ('''''Lateolabrax japonicus''''') is a species of catadromous marine ray-finned fish from the Asian sea bass family Lateolabracidae. It is found in the Western Pacific.

==Vernacular names== In the Kantō region and Shizuoka Prefecture, it is called seigo (セイゴ, 鮬) when under {{Convert|25|cm|abbr=on}} in length. At 3 years of age, when it has attained a length of nearly {{Convert|60|cm|abbr=on}}, the name changes to fukko (フッコ) or suzuki (スズキ, 鱸). In the Kansai region, it is called seigo, hane (ハネ) or suzuki,<ref name = Suzuki>{{cite web | url = https://www.thesushigeek.com/the-sushi-geek/2016/02/20/suzuki-鱸-sea-bass | title = Suzuki (鱸 / Sea Bass) | date = 19 February 2016 | access-date = 3 April 2020 | publisher = The Sushi Geek}}</ref><ref>[https://shizuokagourmet.com/japanese-seasonal-fish-seabasssuzuki/ Japanese seasonal fish: Suzuki/Seabass], ShizuokaGourmet.com, accessed on 2 September 2023.</ref> and other regions may have names for this fish different from the ones just listed.

In China, this fish is commonly called 花鲈 (traditional Chinese: 花鱸).

==Description== 200px|left|thumb|Head of Japanese sea bass. The Japanese sea bass has a slightly forked tail and a large mouth, with the lower jaw protruding beyond the upper jaw. Younger fish have small black spots on the back and dorsal fin; these tend to be lost in larger fish.<ref name = JBS>{{cite web | url = https://japaneseseabass.com/ | title = Japanese Sea Bass | access-date = 3 April 2020 | publisher = Fortune Laurel | archive-date = 27 November 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181127220547/https://japaneseseabass.com/ | url-status = dead }}</ref> The first dorsal fin has 12-15 spines; this is followed by 12-14 soft rays in the second dorsal fin. The anal fin has 3 spines and 7 to 9 soft rays.<ref name="Yokogawa K 1997">{{cite journal | author1 = Yokogawa K | author2 = Taniguchi N | author3 = Seki S. | year = 1997 | title = Morphological and genetic characteristics of sea bass, ''Lateolabrax japonicus'' from the Ariake Sea, Japan | journal = Ichthyological Research | volume = 44 | issue = 1 | pages =51–60 | doi = 10.1007/bf02672758| bibcode = 1997IchtR..44...51Y }}</ref> The maximum recorded total length is {{convert|102|cm|ft|abbr=on}}, although a more common standard length is {{convert|16.1|cm|in|abbr=on}}. The maximum published weight is {{convert|8.7|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.<ref name = Fishbase/>

==Distribution and habitat== The Japanese sea bass is found in the Western Pacific Ocean, where it occurs from Japan to the South China Sea.<ref name = Fishbase>{{FishBase|Lateolabrax|japonicus|month=December|year=2019}}</ref> It occurs on inshore rocky reefs where there is a current.

==Biology== 200px|thumb|left|Japanese sea bass specimen in May 2018.

=== Diet === The diet of the early larvae is exclusively on smaller zooplankton such as cyclopoids and copepods, with copepods being the dominant component in their diet, making up nearly 70%. As juveniles, the diet includes sardines, anchovies, and shrimp, as well as other small fishes and crustaceans.<ref name="Tanaka Masaru 2011">{{cite journal | author1 = Tanaka Masaru | author2 = Yamashita Yoh | author3 = Islam Shahidul | year = 2011 | title = A Review on the Early Life History and Ecology of Japanese Sea Bass and Implication for Recruitment | journal = Environmental Biology of Fishes | volume = 91 | pages =389–405 | doi = 10.1007/s10641-011-9798-| doi-broken-date = 12 July 2025 }}</ref>

===Reproduction and development=== The Japanese sea bass is a protandrous hermaphrodite, with the fish reaching sexual maturity as males at around 2 years old and changing into females when they are older.<ref name="Fishbase" /> Spawning of this species occurs in the coastal waters around Japan, specifically in the shelf areas with a depth of less than {{convert|100|m|ft|abbr=on}} during late October to late January. The water temperature where the eggs are placed in a significant factor for the survival rate, since they do not tolerate temperatures below {{Convert|10|C}}. The eggs are spherical and colorless, and measure about 1.34-1.44 mm in diameter with a single oil globule. Larvae commence feeding at day 4 after hatching, and the transformation from larva to the juvenile stage is around 49 to 70 days of age.<ref name="Tanaka Masaru 2011"/>

=== Migration === Juveniles are dispersed and transported kilometers away from the spawning grounds into coastal areas and river estuaries by tidal currents during late winter or early spring. Some of their nursery habitats are located around Japanese seas, such as Tamara River estuary, Tokyo Bay, Tango Sea, Ariake Bay, and Lake Shinji.<ref name="Yokogawa K 1997"/> Most of the early juveniles migrate to the upriver turbidity maximum zone (TMZ), which is known as an area of high prey concentration in estuaries. Juveniles that migrate to these areas have a better chance to survive than those who remain in coastal areas, since its environmental conditions are more variable, allowing juveniles to have higher growth rate, a lower starvation rate, and less risk of predation.<ref name = Yoh>{{cite journal | author1 = Yamashita Yoh | author2 = Kasai Akihide | author3 = Fuji Taiki | author4 = Suzuki W. Keita | name-list-style = amp | year = 2018 | title = Partial migration of juvenile temperate seabass ''Lateolabrax japonicus'' a versatile survival strategy | journal = Fisheries Science | doi = 10.1007/s12562-017-1166-1 | volume = 84 | issue = 2 | pages = 153–162| bibcode = 2018FisSc..84..153K | hdl = 2115/72719 | hdl-access = free }}</ref>

== Human interactions == This species is important commercially in Japan and China, popular as a game fish, and farmed.<ref name="Fishbase" />

==Relationship with ''Lateolabrax maculatus''== ''Lateolabrax maculatus'' has been treated as a junior synonym of ''L. japonicus'', but more recent authorities have treated it as a valid species with a wide distribution: in the Ariake Sea and off Nagasaki in Japan, and off the coasts of mainland China, Taiwan and Korea (normally off the southern and western coasts).<ref name="Fishbase" />[[File:Japanese seabass - Lateolabrax japonicus for sale Tokyo area Nov 8 2019.jpeg|thumb|Japanese sea bass being sold as food in Japan]] ==References== {{Reflist}}

Japanese seabass Category:Fish of Japan Category:Marine fauna of East Asia Japanese seabass Japanese seabass Category:Taxa named by Georges Cuvier