Lates calcarifer, Barramundi : fisheries, aquaculture, gamefish, aquarium

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Lates calcarifer (Bloch, 1790)

Barramundi
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Lates calcarifer   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Lates calcarifer (Barramundi)
Lates calcarifer
Picture by Lai, N.-W.

Thailand country information

Common names: Pla kapong keo, Pla kapong-khao
Occurrence: native
Salinity: brackish
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: highly commercial | Ref:
Aquaculture: commercial | Ref: FAO Fishery Information, Data and Statistics Service, 1993
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: live export: yes;
Comments: Known fom Nonthaburi, Songkhla, Krabi, Trat, Chanthaburi, Samut Prakan and Klong Wan (Prachuap Khiri Khan) (Ref. 37773). Also Ref. 778, 3281.
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/th.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Monkolprasit, S., S. Sontirat, S. Vimollohakarn and T. Songsirikul, 1997
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Perche barramundi, Perca gigante, الفرخ الكبير, ... more

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Carangaria/misc (Various families in series Carangaria) > Latidae (Lates perches)
Etymology: Lates: Latin, lateo, latere = to be hidden.
More on author: Bloch.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; freshwater; brackish; demersal; catadromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 10 - 40 m (Ref. 7261). Tropical; 15°C - 28°C (Ref. 2060); 49°N - 26°S, 56°E - 155°E (Ref. 54239)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Indo-West Pacific: eastern edge of the Persian Gulf to China, Taiwan and southern Japan, southward to southern Papua New Guinea and northern Australia.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 44.5, range 29 - 60 cm
Max length : 200 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7050); common length : 150 cm NG male/unsexed; (Ref. 9799); max. published weight: 60.0 kg (Ref. 28138); max. reported age: 35 years (Ref. 125591)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 7 - 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10 - 11; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 7 - 8. Body elongate; mouth large, slightly oblique, upper jaw extending behind the eye. Lower edge of preopercle serrated, with strong spine at its angle; opercle with a small spine and with a serrated flap above the origin of the lateral line. Caudal fin rounded.
Body shape (shape guide): fusiform / normal; Cross section: compressed.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Found in coastal waters, estuaries and lagoons, in clear to turbid water (Ref. 5259, 44894). A diadromous fish, inhabiting rivers before returning to the estuaries to spawn. A protandrous hermaphrodite (Ref. 32209). Larvae and young juveniles live in brackish temporary swamps associated with estuaries, and older juveniles inhabit the upper reaches of rivers (Ref. 6390, 44894). Have preference for cover on undercut banks, submerged logs and overhanging vegetation (Ref. 44894). Feed on fishes and crustaceans. They reach 1500-3000 g in one year in ponds under optimum conditions (Ref. 11046, 44894). Juveniles also eat insects (Ref. 44894). Sold fresh and frozen; consumed steamed, pan-fried, broiled and baked (Ref. 9987). A very popular and sought-after fish of very considerable economic importance (Ref. 9799). Presently used for aquaculture in Thailand, Indonesia and Australia (Ref. 9799). Australia's most important commercial fish and one of the most popular angling species (Ref. 44894).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Breed in estuaries throughout the Indo-Pacific. Maturing male barramundi migrate downstream from freshwater habitats at the start of the wet (monsoon) season to spawn with resident females in estuaries (Ref. 27132) and on tidal flats outside the mouths of rivers (Ref. 6390). Barramundi spawn on the full moon and new moon, primarily at the beginning of an incoming tide which carries the eggs into the estuary (Ref. 28135). Barramundi are broadcast spawners that aggregate to spawn (Ref. 6390). Spawning aggregations occur in or around the mouths of rivers (Ref. 28132). While adults and juveniles are capable of living in fresh water, brackish waters are required for embryonic development (Ref. 6136). Female barramundi are capable of producing large numbers of eggs, with estimates as high as 2.3 million eggs per kg of body weight (Ref. 28134). Barramundi are protandrous hermaphrodites, i.e., they undergo sex reversion during their life cycle. Females are generally absent in the smaller length classes, but dominate larger length classes. Most barramundi mature first as males and function as males for one or more spawning seasons before undergoing sex inversion. A few females will develop directly from immature fish (Ref. 28132). Similarly, some males may never undergo sex inversion (Ref. 28132). Also Ref. 103751.

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Larson, H., 1999. Order Perciformes. Suborder Percoidei. Centropomidae. Sea perches. p. 2429-2432. In K.E. Carpenter and V.H. Niem (eds.) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific. Volume 4. Bony fishes part 2 (Mugilidae to Carangidae). FAO, Rome. (Ref. 9799)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 15 February 2019

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: highly commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums
FAO - Aquaculture systems: production, species profile; Fisheries: landings, species profile; Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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Trophic ecology
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Ecology
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Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Alien/Invasive Species database | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Aquaculture systems: production, species profile; Fisheries: landings, species profile; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | National databases | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 25 - 29.1, mean 28.3 °C (based on 710 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5005   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00977 (0.00619 - 0.01542), b=3.00 (2.87 - 3.13), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.8   ±0.60 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.09-0.13; tm=1-5; Fec = 15,300,000).
Prior r = 0.52, 95% CL = 0.34 - 0.77, Based on 3 full stock assessments.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High to very high vulnerability (70 of 100). 🛈
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  High to very high vulnerability (72 of 100). 🛈
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Very high.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 115 [26, 284] mg/100g; Iron = 1 [0, 2] mg/100g; Protein = 19.6 [18.2, 21.1] %; Omega3 = 0.187 [0.117, 0.295] g/100g; Selenium = 144 [50, 373] μg/100g; VitaminA = 7.36 [2.09, 30.74] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.84 [0.34, 1.90] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.