Kindai University announced on February 5 that its team has achieved complete aquaculture of “nodoguro” (blackthroat seaperch) by successfully raising the fish entirely in captivity from artificially hatched parents to the next generation.
This achievement, a world’s first, could be a boon for commercial fish farming and Japanese cuisine.
“It is a valuable and delicious fish. We want to develop a profitable variety suitable for aquaculture,”
Keitaro Kato, director of the Kindai University Aquaculture Research Institute, said at a news conference.
Known for its rich, buttery flavor and melt‑in‑your‑mouth texture, the fish is a popular, but rare ingredient, due to its limited fishing season.
Farming them requires advanced techniques. Nodoguro live at depths of around 100 meters and are very sensitive to variables such as water pressure, changes in light and vibrations. There are no successful cases of complete aquaculture in their native South Korea or Taiwan.
Experiments to achieve full-cycle aquaculture in Japan began in 2015 at a research facility in Imizu, Toyama Prefecture. Although damage from the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake, such as ruptured tanks and pipes, killed masses of juvenile fish, the research persisted.
The team eventually succeeded in artificially hatching nodoguro in October, completing the full aquaculture cycle for the first time. According to the university, the facility now houses about 7,000 juveniles, each approximately 5 centimeters long.
The team’s current challenges include the slower growth of nodoguro compared to red seabream and yellowtail, as well as the fact that more than 90 percent of those artificially hatched nodoguro are male.
The university aims to address these issues through further research and begin commercial cultivation around 2030.
Kindai University was previously in the limelight for its “Kindai tuna” after achieving complete aquaculture of the species. It has also made progress in Japanese eel farming.
