Escolar (Lepidocybium flavobrunneum) is a saltwater species recorded in Taiwan, United States. It is found at depths of 200–1100 m. The main season in Taiwan, United States runs all year.
Scientific name: Lepidocybium flavobrunneum · Water: Saltwater · Season: All year
Size: up to 200 cm
The escolar is a gempylid found mainly over the continental slope, from 200 m down to 1,100 m, and it migrates upward at night. It feeds on squid, crustaceans and a wide variety of fishes, and is sometimes taken incidentally by tuna longliners. It is marketed frozen and used for fish cakes in Japan. Its range covers deep water worldwide between roughly 50 degrees north and 56 degrees south, and it is in season all year. It reaches about 200 cm standard length, commonly 150 cm, and up to about 45 kg. It is a minor commercial species and a game fish, in the medium price band, with a trophic level of 4.3, very high fishing vulnerability at 80 of 100, moderate climate vulnerability at 39, and low resilience.
Caution: contains indigestible wax esters. Wax esters are not absorbed by the gut and can cause oily diarrhoea, passing orange or yellow oil, sometimes with abdominal pain, nausea and headache; cooking and freezing do not break them down. Hong Kong's Centre for Food Safety advises eating only a small amount the first time.
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