Japanese scad (Decapterus maruadsi) is a saltwater species recorded in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia. It is mainly found over reef, at depths of ≥ 0 m. The main season in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia runs summer, winter.
Scientific name: Decapterus maruadsi · Water: Saltwater · Season: Summer, Winter
Size: up to 30 cm
The Japanese scad is a small pelagic carangid with a fusiform body, a blue-green back, a silver belly and scutes along the rear of the lateral line; it moves inshore in dense schools chasing plankton, usually inside 20 m, and will enter semi-enclosed sea areas. It is one of the commonest small jacks along the Taiwanese coast, abundant and greedy, and easily caught on feather rigs, small hooks or lures, which makes it a first fish for beginners and one of the top three species by catch in the iOcean angling dataset. Malaysians call it ikan selayang, also curut, basung or sardin, and it is among the country's biggest-volume food fishes: large shoals run off Terengganu and Kelantan on the east coast, off Penang and Kedah on the west coast, and around Kota Kinabalu and Kudat in Sabah, where both commercial boats and anglers take it mainly as live bait for bigger fish. A boat fished sabiki rig over a handful of berley is the classic method, small metal jigs also work, and a jetty light at night will pull a school within casting range; the fish feed fast and come in numbers, which makes it a good way to build confidence and top up the bait box. Hong Kong and Taiwan both fish it in summer and winter. It reaches about 30 cm fork length, with Malaysian sources recording up to 35 cm. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
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