The Sulphur is the largest coral fish in the world, and as an adult it is iron-blue throughout and has protruding lips. There are many names for the fish, known in English as Napoleon Wimothy, Bulbophyllosa or Maori Seyu, and in Chinese it is called Sumei or Corrugated Lip Fish, "Sumei" is derived from the two stripes like eyebrows behind the eyes of this fish.
There are two types of sumei fish, one is the deep-sea sumei fish, and the other is the farmed freshwater sumei fish. The main consumption and origin of the fish (Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Chinese mainland, Hong Kong SAR, Papua and New Guinea). It was listed as endangered in the IUCN Red Book in 2004 and as a protected species in Appendix II of the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) in October of the same year.
Appearance characteristics
The Sulphur is a large bulging fish with a gentle personality. And because the forehead is high and bulging, like the hat worn by Napoleon, it is called "Napoleon". The eyes are small and located on the upper side of the head, the space between the two eyes is very raised, the body is elongated and oblong; the head contour is straight from the back to the eyes, and then protrudes; the adult forehead is prominent. The mouth is large obliquely lobed , with a column of tapered teeth on the upper and lower jaws , a pair of large canine teeth at the front end , and a serrated edge of the anterior gill cap. The body is covered with large round scales. The caudal fin has a rounded margin , a dark green color on the head and neck , a yellowish-green color on the sides of the body , and dark wavy transverse stripes on the posterior half of the body.
Juveniles are dark blue , with many scarlet stripes on the head and abdomen , and purple stripes at the end of the scales of the body. The head has two parallel black bands passing through the eyes. There are 9 dorsal spines, 10 dorsal fin soft strips, 3 fin spines, and 8 fin soft strips. Body length up to 200 cm.
The Sulphur belongs to the family Ofucosaurus, the largest and longest-lived coral fish, generally living for more than 30 years. The largest fish found so far is over 50 years old, up to 2.5 meters long and weighs 191 kilograms. Adults have distinct and colorful markings, and each face has a unique pattern that radiates outward from the eyes, like a human fingerprint.
Distribution range
It is found in the Indo-Pacific region, including the Red Sea, East Africa, South Africa, the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan, Maldives, Sri Lanka, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, solomon islands, Caroling Islands, Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Hawaiian Islands, American Samoa and other waters. China is mainly distributed in the waters around the Spratly Islands and Taiwan.
Habits of life
The sumei fish eats poisonous spiny animals and accumulates toxins. In addition to fish, it feeds on numerous species of invertebrates, including many poisonous and spiny animals such as sea urchins, crown-of-spine starfish, hard-scaled fish, and sea hares. Sumei fish will not be poisoned after eating these poisonous animals, but the toxin will accumulate in the body of the Sumei fish, and consumers will be poisoned if they eat the Sumei fish that has not been cleaned of the toxins.
The Sumei fish has a whole set of techniques for dealing with prey. If the prey hides in the crevices of the reef, it will extend its jaw to clamp the prey tightly and drag it out. For stealthy prey, it will bite off the coral branches where the prey is hiding, or blow away the cover such as sediment by spraying strong water currents to catch the prey. If the prey burrows under the stone, the fish will turn the stone over with a strong jaw, and it will also use its hard pharyngeal teeth to crush the hard shell of the shelled animal.
Reproductive characteristics
The Sulphur is the longest-lived coral fish and matures slowly. The sumei is a hermaphroditic female pre-mature fish, and an important feature of this type of fish is that it can change sex over a certain period of time. Most of the fish remain gender-exclusive after birth, and only a small percentage of adult females have the opportunity to become males, and the larger females in this small group have the opportunity to become super-males, which often occurs when the leader of another super-male fish dies. The super male sumei is the leader of a group of sumei fish, which is larger than all other male sumei fish, with a unique color and pattern.
The sulphurs will mate and spawn in groups during the breeding season when the new moon rises. Unlike many migratory fish, they do not spawn at birth, and their entire mating and spawning process is short, no more than a day. After mating and spawning, the fertilized eggs float to the ocean photosynthetic zone, where they hatch into juveniles. Juveniles generally live in lagoons rich in inner coral polyps and swim to the outer shores as adults. They inhabit the algae-covered rock reefs and coral seas, generally 40 cm long, weigh 1.5-2.5 kg, larger Sumei fish body length 70-80 cm, weight up to 10 kg, its growth period is long, generally take 7 to 8 years, reproductive period is 4 to 7 months, spawning fish up to 80,000 to 120,000 grains.
It has few natural enemies and low natural mortality rates, and was once widely distributed in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, but why has the population decreased by at least 50% in the past 30 years, and there is a tendency to accelerate the decline. Studies in most regions have shown that the population of the Sulphur was dwindling due to the gradual decline in commercial trade, and its proportion had once decreased by as much as 90%. Many juveniles are caught before they reach reproductive age, resulting in fewer and fewer adults to reproduce and misconduct in the fishing process threatens not only the survival of the species, but also fragile coral reef ecosystems.
In areas where there are no catches and light fishing, there are an average of 2 to 20 adult fish per hectare of coral reefs (rarely more than 10), far below the minimum density required for economic fish, and in areas of heavy fishing, the density drops to one-tenth of the original, and in some areas it has even become extinct.
The long lifespan and slow sexual maturity of the sumei fish make its population highly susceptible to the impact of fishing, and there may even be a phenomenon of generation breakage. Secondly, the characteristics of spawning in clusters of Sumei fish make it easy to overfish, and once the hunter knows the specific time and place of mating of Sumei fish, he can catch it all. Again, there is a greater demand for 30 to 45 cm long sumac, and fish of this size have not yet matured sexually, thus greatly reducing the fertility of the population. In addition, the artificial culture of Sumei fish is still in the experimental stage and does not have the ability to supply the market. Most of the so-called captive farming is nothing more than catching juvenile fish and selling them when they grow up, so the fish in the market are basically wild fish.
The sulphur has long been traded as an economic fish. The meat of the fish is tender and is famously delicious, but due to the small number, in Hong Kong and Chinese mainland, the fish is traded as an expensive edible fish, and one kilogram of fish can sell for $200, and a plate of fish lips can sell for $300. It is the high price that motivates some people to constantly take risks to catch the fish.
Some experts said that after the Sumei fish is listed as an endangered species, the most critical thing is to carry out actual protection. Because although the Sumei fish is listed as an endangered and protected species, the illegal acts of poaching, smuggling, black market trading and other illegal acts of the Sumei fish are still continuing, and more importantly, many people still know little about the current situation of the Sumei fish, and some people even eat it correctly. To change this situation, the relevant countries must reach an agreement to strictly regulate the sumei fish trade, put an end to private fishing, and more importantly, let people realize that the sumei fish is also an endangered and protected animal, and we should protect them, not eat them.
Although the sumei is the largest coral fish, it is easily frightened and burrows into coral reefs to seek safety when frightened. The gentle temperament of the sumei fish is popular with diving enthusiasts because it can even allow divers to touch it.
A group of photos of the "big swallowing of the living" of the Sumei fish staged on the Great Barrier Reef
In Palau there is a sumei fish called "Dabao", and palau locals and palau residents have a certain understanding of Dabao. The story of Dabao has now become a legend, and no one knows whether it has been hunted and killed, or eaten by sharks. Dabao has lived in the waters off Palau for decades and is more than 2 meters long. It is understood that Dabao is very clingy, likes to chase with people, and its memory is very good, as long as the people who have fed it food, it can recognize it. Dabao likes to eat hard-boiled eggs, if you take eggs to the sea to find Dabao, before you can take out the eggs, it will be pout your pocket and tell you that it knows that you have brought food for it.
For fish chasers in the deep sea and conservation personnel who love the ocean, the departure of Dabao is a very touching thing. Palau Fun dive instructor Chen Fang, a fish chaser who has been with Dabao for 2 years. After looking for Dabao for half a year, in this July, I wrote a long article expressing my long thoughts about Dabao, which wrote: "Dabao has been missing for half a year, I have not dared to believe it, I don't want to believe it, Dabao is gone, one month, two months, three months... Now half a year has passed, and I have never seen Dabao again in the Blue Horn. Dabao, did you really go so quietly, and didn't say goodbye to me? ”
No buying and selling, no killing! I hope more people understand the Sumei fish and cherish the Sumei fish!
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