Giant yellow croaker facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Giant yellow croaker |
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The Chinese bahaba (Bahaba taipingensis) is a very large fish that lives in the ocean and in brackish water. It is also known as the giant yellow croaker. This amazing fish can grow up to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) long and weigh as much as 100 kg (220 lb)! That's like a small car!
Sadly, the Chinese bahaba is a critically endangered species. This means it is at a very high risk of disappearing forever. It belongs to the Sciaenidae family, which includes many types of croakers and drums.
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Where the Chinese Bahaba Lives
The Chinese bahaba is found along the coast of China. It lives in the waters from the Yangtze River estuary (where the river meets the sea) all the way south to the Pearl River estuary. This area includes the waters near Hong Kong and Macau.
This fish likes to live in shallow seas. It can be found near rocky shores and in estuarine waters. Estuaries are places where fresh river water mixes with salty ocean water. These areas are very important for the bahaba, especially when they are ready to lay their eggs. In the past, many bahaba would gather in these estuaries during certain times of the year.
What the Chinese Bahaba Eats
The Chinese bahaba is a benthopelagic fish. This means it lives and feeds both near the seafloor and in the open water above it. Its main diet includes crustaceans. These are creatures like shrimps and crabs. So, the bahaba is a seafood lover!
Why the Chinese Bahaba is Endangered
The Chinese bahaba is in great danger mainly because of overfishing. This means too many of them have been caught by people. In the 1930s, fishermen caught about 50 tonnes of these fish each year. But by the 1950s and 1960s, this number dropped to only 10 tonnes per year. Very few large fish were being caught anymore.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed the Chinese bahaba as critically endangered. This is the highest risk category before extinction. Besides overfishing, the places where they lay their eggs, especially in estuaries, have been damaged. This also makes it harder for the fish to survive and reproduce.
Even though China has laws to protect this fish, some people still catch and sell them. This happens because parts of the fish, especially its swim bladder, are very valuable. The swim bladder is used in traditional Chinese medicine. In some markets, a good swim bladder can be worth more than its weight in gold! This high price encourages illegal fishing.
To help save the species, the Chinese Government protected a part of the Pearl River estuary in 2005. However, in Hong Kong, there are no specific laws to protect the Chinese bahaba, even though it is very rare there. Organizations like the World Wildlife Fund have asked the Hong Kong government to protect it. Sometimes, bahaba caught in Hong Kong are even sold in mainland China for high prices.
Because the Chinese bahaba became so rare, some people started fishing for a similar species called the totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi) in Mexico. Now, the totoaba is also seriously threatened.
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