Hong Kong grouper (Epinephelus akaara) is a saltwater species recorded in Hong Kong, Taiwan. It is mainly found over reef, rocky, at depths of 1–55 m. The main season in Hong Kong, Taiwan runs spring, summer, autumn.
Scientific name: Epinephelus akaara · Water: Saltwater · Season: Spring, Summer, Autumn
Size: up to 50 cm
The Hong Kong grouper is a medium-sized species with orange-red speckling, living over rock and reef down to about 55 m, with juveniles often shallower than 10 m. Its range is the north-west Pacific: southern China, Taiwan, the East China Sea, Korea and southern Japan from Kyushu to about 38 degrees north on both coasts of Honshu, with a specimen from Vietnam that may be Epinephelus fasciatomaculosus and records from the Philippines and India unsubstantiated. Hong Kong calls it the red grouper and Taiwan the red-spotted grouper. It is in season in autumn and reaches about 50 cm, and it is listed as Endangered, with Taiwan's Fisheries Research Institute running long-term restocking. A prized food fish usually taken by hand-line over rock strata, it is sold live in Hong Kong markets and also occurs off northern Taiwan, the north-east coast and Penghu.
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