Pan-fried yellow croaker is almost a staple to Hong Kong families.

In 2020 alone, Hong Kong imported 6,459 kg of Large yellow croakers from mainland China and Korea, showing how important this species is to Hong Kong.

Unfortunately, overfishing and fishing activities at spawning grounds have caused the production in the East China Sea to crash by 99% from the 70s to the 90s.

To satisfy our appetite for the fish, aquaculture of Large yellow croaker has become popular since then.

Sadly, aquaculture is not a perfect solution to overfishing. As the fish is a carnivorous species, farming requires feeding a large amount of feed-grade fish. As these feed-grade fish are harvested from the wild, farming Large yellow croakers also has a toll on the wild fish population.

Additionally, fish farming is associated with problems of water pollution and the spread of fish diseases.

Luckily, some Large yellow croaker farms have started to use plant-based compound feed made from soy to reduce the impact on the wild fish population. But as the environmental impacts of farming large yellow croakers are not thoroughly assessed yet, the WWF-HK seafood guide encourages the public to “Think Twice” before purchasing the species.