Japanese Threadfin Bream

Nemipterus japonicus, commonly known as the 🇯🇵 Japanese threadfin bream, is a significant species of marine ray-finned fish within the Nemipteridae family. This important food fish is native to the Indo-Pacific region.

Originally described in 1791 as Sparus japonicus by German physician and naturalist Marcus Elieser Bloch, the type locality of this species is 🇯🇵 Japan. According to the 5th edition of "Fishes of the World," this species belongs to the order Spariformes.

The morphological features of Nemipterus japonicus include a dorsal fin with 10 spines and 9 soft rays, and an anal fin with 3 spines and 7 soft rays. The body length is 2.7 to 3.5 times its depth, with a snout length equal to or longer than the diameter of the eye. It possesses 4 or 5 pairs of canine-like teeth in the upper jaw, long pectoral fins extending beyond the anal fin origin, and moderately long pelvic fins. The caudal fin is deeply forked with a slightly longer upper lobe extending into an elongated filament. The species displays a pinkish color on the upper body, transitioning to silvery on the flanks and ventral surface. Distinct coloration includes a golden tint from the top of the head to the rear of the eye, and 11 or 12 light yellow horizontal stripes from the head to the caudal peduncle. The maximum reported length for this species is 34 cm, though typically it reaches 25 cm.

Nemipterus japonicus is widely distributed across the Indo-Pacific, from the 🌊 Red Sea and Tanzania to the 🇵🇭 Philippines, 🇯🇵 Japan, 🇮🇩 Indonesia, and Timor-Leste. Its presence in the Mediterranean is likely mistaken for N. randalli. It is a common demersal species, found at depths of 5 to 80 meters over muddy and sandy substrates.

This species tends to form schools and feeds on a diverse diet of fish, crustaceans, molluscs (primarily cephalopods), polychaetes, and echinoderms. It is characterized by rapid growth and reaches sexual maturity at about one year of age.

Nemipterus japonicus is heavily targeted by commercial and artisanal fisheries throughout its range, primarily through trawling and gill netting. It is consumed as an ingredient in crab sticks and smaller specimens are often processed into fish meal, particularly in regions like 🇵🇰 Pakistan.