Dongping Lake Mandarinfish

Dongping Lake Mandarinfish

　　The mandarinfish, also known as the Chinese perch or the Chinese snakehead, belongs to the family Sinipercidae in taxonomy. It is one of China’s “Four Famous Freshwater Fish.” The mandarinfish has delicate flesh, few bones, and abundant meat. Its meat is flaky and delicious, making it a premium choice among fish. The famous Tang Dynasty poet Zhang Zhihe wrote the well-known lines “Before the Western Hills fly egrets white; / Peach blossom drifts where the mandarinfish glide,” praising this very fish. Before the 1970s, the lake had a relatively large population of mandarinfish. According to fishermen from Laohu Village in Laohu Town, in 1971, they could catch 70 to 80 kilograms of mandarinfish in a single day using specialized nets. This fish doesn’t grow very large, typically weighing around 1 kilogram, and the largest individual ever caught by fishermen was a female fish weighing about 2 kilograms.

　　The mandarinfish is a typical carnivorous fish and is quite fierce. Mandarinfish fry, just hatched from eggs, prey on the fry of other fish species. Adult mandarinfish mainly feed on small fish, shrimp, and small crustaceans that have little economic value. Adapted to its diet, the mandarinfish has a terminal, large mouth with a protruding lower jaw and many canine-like teeth on both the upper and lower jaws. Its dorsal fin is well-developed, occupying nearly the entire back, with 12 sharp, hard spines in the front part, while the anal fin has 3 hard spines. The fish has a bright yellow body color with many irregular black spots, and its scales are small and round. It uses its body patterns as camouflage and often inhabits the lower layers of slow-moving waters with abundant aquatic plants along the shore. Sometimes it lurks in mud burrows, waiting to ambush prey. Once it spots a target, it quietly approaches, waits for the right moment, and then strikes with lightning speed. In winter, mandarinfish mostly overwinter in deep water.

　　Mandarinfish in Dongping Lake generally reach sexual maturity at around 3 years of age, when they grow to a length of 25 centimeters. Their breeding season is in June. During spawning, in calm flowing water, you can see male fish chasing females. The female lays eggs in the water, and the male simultaneously releases sperm, allowing the eggs and sperm to meet and fertilize in the water. The eggs of the mandarinfish are buoyant but slightly heavier than water, so they remain in the moving water layer, drifting along with the current as they continue to develop. When the water temperature is between 23°C and 25°C, it takes just over 50 hours for the fry to hatch. The mandarinfish grows relatively quickly and feeds on small fish of little economic value. As a premium aquatic delicacy, it is highly favored by consumers. Before 1965, the yield of mandarinfish in Dongping Lake was high, and it was a common fish in the market. However, due to overfishing afterward, its resources significantly declined. Future efforts are needed to protect and develop this valuable fish species and restore its population.