Seasonal migration of the snailfish Liparis tanakae and their habitat overlap with 0-year-old Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus

The snailfish Liparis tanakae is an annual fish, growing up to >300 mm in total length. This species is known as a predator of 0-year-old Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus. To reveal when and where the predation occurs, monthly collections of both species at various depths were conducted off Fukushima, Japan. The snailfish inhabited shallow areas <= 50 m deep until June. Thereafter, they shifted their main habitat to offshore areas >= 100 m deep from July to September. The snailfish migrated to inshore areas with depths of <= 50 m again around October-December, during which time the habitat overlap between snailfish and 0-year-old Japanese flounder was observed. In that period, >40% of 0-year-old Japanese flounder were vulnerable to the snailfish. Larger snailfish showed stronger piscivory, and some flatfish were found in their stomachs. These results suggest that by not releasing hatchery-reared Japanese flounder until September can forestall predation by the snailfish.