The Japanese amberjack or yellowtail, ''Seriola quinqueradiata'', is a species of jack

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

in the family

Carangidae The Carangidae are a family of ray-finned fish that includes the jacks, pompanos, jack mackerels, runners, trevallies, and scads. It is the largest of the six families included within the order Carangiformes. Some authorities classify it as the ...

, native to the northwest

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. It is known as ''shiyu'' () in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, ''bang'eo'' () in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

, and ''buri'' () or ''hamachi'' () in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Although it is frequently listed on menus as "yellowtail tuna", it is a fish of an entirely different family, the Carangidae, rather than the family

Scombridae The mackerel, tuna, and bonito family, Scombridae, includes many of the most important and familiar food fishes. The family consists of 51 species in 15 genera and two subfamilies. All species are in the subfamily Scombrinae, except the but ...

that includes

tuna A tuna (: tunas or tuna) is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bul ...

mackerel Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of pelagic fish, mostly from the family Scombridae. They are found in both temperate and tropical seas, mostly living along the coast or offshore in the oceanic environment. ...

s, and

bonito Bonitos are a tribe of medium-sized, ray-finned, predatory fish in the family Scombridae, which it shares with the mackerel, tuna, and Spanish mackerel tribes, and also the butterfly kingfish. Also called the tribe Sardini, it consists of ...

Description

Japanese amberjack usually grows to around 1 meter in length, though some can reach 1.5 meters. They have a characteristic yellow band that runs horizontally along the length of the body, as well as a yellow tail, hence their name. Mojako.jpg, Juvenile Japanese amberjack Naturalis Biodiversity Center - RMNH.ART.197 - Seriola quinqueradiata Temminck and Schlegel - Kawahara Keiga - 1823 - 1829 - Siebold Collection - pencil drawing - water colour.jpeg, Japanese amberjack, painting by Kawahara Keiga (川原慶賀), 1823–1829

As food

The fish is highly appreciated in

, where it is called ''hamachi'' or ''buri''. They are eaten either cooked or raw and are a seasonal favourite in the colder months when the meat has a higher fat content. Amberjack is typically thought of as a winter delicacy of Toyama and the

Hokuriku region The is located in the northwestern part of Honshu, the main island of Japan. It lies along the Sea of Japan and is part of the larger Chūbu region. It is almost equivalent to the former Koshi Province (Japan), Koshi Province and Hokurikudō are ...

. Some of the fish consumed are caught wild, but a substantial amount is farmed (about 120,000

tonnes The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...

per year). To populate the pens, every May, workers fish for the small wild fry (called '' mojako''), which can be found under floating

seaweed Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of ''Rhodophyta'' (red), '' Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...

. They scoop out the seaweed together with the ''mojako'' and put the ''mojako'' in cages in the sea. The small fry grow until they reach 10 to 50 grams in mass; the fry are called ''inada'' in eastern Japan ( Kantō). They are then sold to aquaculturists, who grow them until they reach 3 kilograms (youth, called ''hamachi'') or 5 kilograms (adult, called ''buri''). 回転寿司大江戸新宿西口店 2022-09-23 01.jpg, '' Nigirizushi'' with raw amberjack 鰤しゃぶ.jpg, Plate of amberjack '' shabu-shabu'' Teriyaki saute fish (2859536912).jpg,

Teriyaki ''Teriyaki'' is a cooking technique in which foods are grilling#Overhead grilling, broiled or Grilling, grilled with a Glaze (cooking technique), glaze of soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. Although commonly associated with Japanese cuisine, Fish ...

amberjack Jin Kichi, Hampstead, London (3955866956).jpg, Amberjack

sashimi is a Japanese cuisine, Japanese delicacy consisting of fresh raw fish or Raw meat, meat sliced into thin pieces and often eaten with soy sauce. Origin The word ''sashimi'' means 'pierced body', i.e., "wikt:刺身, 刺身" = ''sashimi'', whe ...

Buri no suimono 01.jpg, ''Suimono'' (clear soup) with amberjack Bangeo-hoe.jpg, Korean ''bangeo- hoe'', or raw amberjack

References

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External links

* {{Authority control Chinese seafood East Asian seafood Fish described in 1845 Fish of Hawaii Fish of Japan Fish of Korea Japanese seafood Korean seafood Seriola