• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.303-310
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• 2023

Yellow goosefish (Lophius litulon) is one of the important commercial fisheries target species in Korea, and commonly consumed as braised or stew. The microsporidian Spraguea is known to infect the nervous system of lophiid fish, forming numerous visible whitish xenomas. This parasite is commonly found in lophiid fish worldwide, but there is no information on the infection status of this parasite in Korea. We obtained commercially available chopped packs of lophiid fish from several fish markets and investigated their prevalence of infection. The isolated xenomas were crushed and purified as mature spore suspension. Microscopic observation and PCR were conducted to visualize and identify them. The host fish was also identified by DNA bar cording analysis. All the specimens were heavily infected and microscopic observation with Giemsa or Chromotrope 2R stain revealed tiny oval shapes of typical microsporidian spores. PCR analysis targeting the partial SSU rDNA showed that our specimen belongs to the genus Spraguea clade. But clear identification at the species level was not possible, due to the insufficient information of gene sequences available in GenBank. In addition, all of our host fish specimen was identified as yellow goosefish. This is the first report of a microsporidian parasite Spraguea infection in yellow goosefish from Korea.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.26 no.10
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• pp.628-636
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• 2023

Stomach contents of three commercially important species, anchovy (Engraulis japonica), small yellow croaker (Larimichthys polyactis) and yellow goosefish (Lophius litulon) were analyzed to investigate difference of prey between Spring and Fall. Trawl surveys for target fishes were conducted at 12 stations by the RV Tamgu-8 in the Yellow Sea-Korean side in Spring and Fall 2008 as a part of the United Nations Development Programme/Global Environment Facility (UNDP/GEF), Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (YSLME) survey. Stomach contents of 50 individuals of each species were analyzed to species level of prey, if the number of specimens was more than 50 for each species. Fullness and digestion condition of stomach contents were determined by five and six levels, respectively. In anchovy stomachs, 23 species in Spring and 15 species in Fall were identified, respectively. Stomach contents were mostly occupied by copepods and euphausiids, mostly Euphausia spp., calyptopis in Spring while by copepods and amphipods in Fall. In small yellow croaker stomachs, 23 species in Spring and 11 species in Fall were identified. Stomach contents were mostly occupied by copepods and euphausiids in Spring, but by only euphausiids in Fall. Total 368 yellow goosefish (151 in Spring and 217 in Fall) were captured, but stomach contents only in Fall were analyzed. Most of stomach contents were anchovy with small proportion of Hakodate sand shrimp, Tanaka's snailfish, Pacific cod, and miscellaneous things. The present research unveiled that main food items of plankton feeder were distinctly different by species and seasons in the Yellow Sea-Korean side, as coincided with previous reports.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.67-73
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• 2020

The maturity and spawning of the yellow goosefish Lophius litulon were studied using samples collected monthly from January to December 2018 from the coastal waters of Korea. We analyzed monthly changes in maturity stage, gonadosomatic index (GSI), total length (TL) at 50%, 75%, and 97.5% group maturity, egg diameter and fecundity. The spawning period was from January to June. The size of eggs spawned was between 0.30 to 1.28 mm. Fecundity varied between 328,314 to 1,624,783 eggs. The percentage of sexually mature females estimated from a logistic function was over 50% at 48.67 cm TL, 75% at 56.76 cm TL and 97.5% at 74.89 cm TL.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.529-534
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• 1998

Age and growth of the yellow goosefish, Lophius litulon, were studied using samples collected from the southwestern waters of Korea. Vertebrae of the fish had relatively clear annuli on their surface. The opaque zone of vertebrae was formed once a year between March and April. The oldest fish observed in this study was 8 years old for females and 5 years old for males. The relationship between the radius (R) of vertebral centrum and total length (L) was as follows: L=12.7+4.8R for females and L=9.8+5.6R for males. The relationship between total length and body weight (W) was as follows : $W=0.0089L^{3.0311}$ for females and $W=0.0329L^{2.7752}$ for males. Growth in length of the fish was expressed by the von Bertalanffy's equation as $L_t=127.60(1-e^{-0.1228(t+0.3851)})$ for females and $L_t=82.23(1-e^{-0.1832(t+0.6431)})$ for males.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.95-104
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• 1997

Stomach contents of 518 specimens of the yellow goosefish, Lophius litulon caught by the off-shore stownet in the southern waters of Korea were examined by means of the calculation of the frequency of occurrence number and weight percentages, and index of relative importance (IRI) in each prey organisms. Prey organisms of the yellow goosefish consist of fishes, crustaceans, cephalopods. Fishes were dominant prey group, and occupied $98.8\%$ in IRI of prey organisms. Four species of fish, Pseudosciaena manchurica Collichthys niveatus, Engraulis japonica, Trichiurus lepturus were dominant as to the IRI and occupied $87.2\%$ of the total IRI. P. manchurica was a dominant prey organism in predator's stomach through the year, and the other dominant prey organisms occurred intermittently with seasonal progress. P. manchurica was a dominant prey organism to all fish size, too. C. niveatus and E. japonica decreased in importance in the diet as the fish size increased concomitant with an increase in importance of T. lepturus. Mean species number and mean individual number of prey organisms increased with the fish size.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.714-720
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• 2022

A dietary comparison of yellow goosefish Lophius litulon in the South Sea and Yellow Sea was performed by analyzing stomach contents. Using a bottom trawl net from fisheries resources survey vessels of the National Institute of Fisheries Science, 326 individuals were collected from the South Sea and 166 individuals were collected from the Yellow Sea. The total length range of L. litulon was 5.3-68.4 cm for individuals collected from the South Sea and 7.5-55.1 cm for individuals collected from the Yellow Sea. Based on the index of relative importance and the variation in stomach contents by fish size, L. litulon was found to be a piscevore and a spatiotemporally opportunistic feeder fish that fed mainly on pisces. There were differences in the composition of the stomach contents by season, location, and the interaction between the season and the location. Thus, the diet of L. litulon is affected by the prey abundance and prey spectrum of the habitat.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.872-877
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• 2009

By-products of marine organisms including salmon, skate, flatfish, and yellow goosefish were investigated to search for new source of chondroitin sulfate (CS). Agarose gel electrophoresis with chondroitinase depolymerization showed that purified chondroitin sulfate did not contain any other glycosaminoglycans. 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra were acquired to confirm the structure and purity. The average molecular weight ranging from 22 to 64 kDa was determined by high performance size exclusion chromatography. Disaccharide compositions and purities were determined by strong anion exchange-high performance liquid chromatography (SAX-HPLC) after chondroitinase ABC depolymerization. SAX-HPLC data exhibited that the purity was from $81.7{\pm}1.3$ to $114.2{\pm}2.5%$ and the yield was from 1.3 to 12.5%. All analytical results indicate that salmon cartilage, skate cartilage, and yellow goosefish bone could be promising sources of CS to substitute shark cartilage CS in commercial neutraceuticals.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.435-441
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• 2011

The feeding habits of yellow goosefish Lophius litulon and John Dory Zeus faber were studied by analyzing the stomach contents of specimens collected in the South Sea of Korea. In total, 132 hauls were taken during six experimental trawl survey (Tamgu 1) cruises conducted on a seasonal basis (March 2005-October 2007). The main prey items of the two species were similar. Fishes and crustaceans were the most important prey, with neither species showing ontogenetic changes in preferred species. Specifically, Pennahia argentata was the preferred prey item of L. litulon, whereas Trichiurus lepturus and Engraulis japonicus were preferred by Z. faber. Larger Z. faber (>24 cm) preferred bigger prey such as T. lepturus and Larimichthys polyactis, while smaller Z. faber preferred E. japonicus and Acropoma japonicum.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.97-108
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• 1997

Variation of the catches and fishing grounds, and spawning ecology of Lophius litulon caught by large staw net were investigated from following as ; L. litulon caught through the year, and the peak in catches showed on January in winter, and the lowest catches showed on August in summer. The fishing grounds of L. litulon were located in the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea. And the main fishing ground was formed in the adjacent waters of Ilhyang-cho, where catches and CPUE were more than 50 M/T, 5 kg/haul, respectively, and the range of coefficient of variation(C.V) was 0.6~0.7. The spawning season of L. litulon was on March and April, when spawning area was formed in waters between Ilhyang-Cho and Cheju-Do. The fishing grounds distribution of L. litulon was obviously different with seasonal variation. Namely, in winter, the fishing grounds were mainly formed in the western waters of Cheju-Do, and on March and April( in spawning season), the fishing grounds were densely formed in the adjacent waters of Ilhyang-Cho, and after May, the fishing grounds were widely dispersed towards in the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea with temperature upgrade.

• Ocean Science Journal
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.41-48
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• 2007

We investigated the temperature and salinity effects on the major fish species in the wintering grounds based on trawl surveys and oceanographic observations in the southwestern waters of Korea during March-early April in 2002-2003. The influence area of warm Kuroshio water was limited to the southwestern area of Korea in 2003 with a range of $7.7-16.3^{\circ}C$, 32.54-34.70 of salinity, wider than that of 2002. The number of fish species and density of major fish species in 2003 were higher than in 2002. Geographical estimation showed high proportions of species number and catches in the areas around Jeju Islands, southwestern waters and the southeastern coast of Korea. Five species; silver pomfret (Pam pus echinogaster), hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus), anchovy (Engraulis japonicus), Small yellow croaker (Larimichthys polyactis) and yellow goosefish (Lophius litulon) were most abundant, composing above 60% of the total catch in 2002 and 2003. More than 50% of catch in the major fish species were mostly distributed in the range of $9.5-11.0^{\circ}C$ of temperature and 33.1-33.9 of salinity. Non-parametric estimation for the major species showed the 1st mode around $10^{\circ}C$ and the 2nd mode at $8-9^{\circ}C$ in 2002 and $11-14^{\circ}C$ in 2003. Among major fish species, hairtail was principally composed of juveniles, and larger individuals were caught in southeastern waters. These results are considered to be helpful for the area-based fishery management strategy for the wintering grounds of the Yellow Sea and coastal waters of Korea.