Distribution of the early life stages of small yellow croaker in the Yangtze River estuary and adjacent waters

Assessment of fishery resources using environmental DNA: Small yellow croaker (Larimichthys polyactis) in East China Sea

“…Although the small yellow croaker fishery has been recovered since the 1990s, the population and biological characters were found to have changed, including the decrease of body size, early maturation, and the dispersal of spawning grounds [4,6,[8][9][10]. For example, the spawning grounds have expanded from nearshore in the past to offshore at present [3]. In addition, spatial and temporal distributional changes in fish habits and migration patterns were observed in previous studies [11,12].…”

“…Effective fishery management and biodiversity conservation require accurate information on spatial distribution and population status [1,2]. Small yellow croaker (Larimichthys polyactis), an important demersal, warm-temperature fish species, is widely distributed in the coastal areas of the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, and East China Sea [3][4][5]. It is a commercially important fish supporting the demersal fisheries of Korea, Japan and China [3,4].…”

“…Small yellow croaker (Larimichthys polyactis), an important demersal, warm-temperature fish species, is widely distributed in the coastal areas of the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, and East China Sea [3][4][5]. It is a commercially important fish supporting the demersal fisheries of Korea, Japan and China [3,4]. Small yellow croaker regularly migrates among spawning, feeding, and overwintering grounds.…”

“…Small yellow croaker regularly migrates among spawning, feeding, and overwintering grounds. The spawning time of small yellow croaker runs from March to June, with a peak of pelagic eggs in the coastal waters of the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea in April to May [3]. Three geographical stocks (i.e., northern, Lvsi, and East China Sea) of the croaker were identified based on spawning migration patterns and morphological characters [3].…”

“…The spawning time of small yellow croaker runs from March to June, with a peak of pelagic eggs in the coastal waters of the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea in April to May [3]. Three geographical stocks (i.e., northern, Lvsi, and East China Sea) of the croaker were identified based on spawning migration patterns and morphological characters [3]. The small yellow croaker had been under high fishing pressure and over-exploitation for decades, including phases of prosperity (1950)(1951)(1952)(1953)(1954)(1955)(1956)(1957)(1958)(1959)(1960), decline (1961)(1962)(1963)(1964)(1965)(1966)(1967)(1968)(1969)(1970)(1971)(1972)(1973)(1974)(1975)(1976), nearly collapsing (1977)(1978)(1979)(1980)(1981)(1982)(1983)(1984)(1985)(1986)(1987)(1988)(1989) [6].…”