Density and sound speed contrasts (g and h , respectively), and swimming angle were measured for sandfish (Arctoscopus japonicus) without swimbladder. The density contrast was measured by the volume displacement method while the sound speed contrast was measured by the acoustic measurements of travel time (time-of-flight method). The swimming angle was measured by dividing it into daytime, nighttime, daytime feeding and nighttime feeding. The g was 1.001 to 1.067 with an average (± standard deviation) of 1.032 (± 0.017), and the h was 1.007 to 1.022 with an average (± standard deviation) of 1.015 (± 0.003). The swimming angles (mean ± standard deviation) were 16.8 ± 10.3° during the daytime, 1.9 ± 12.3° during the nighttime, 30.2 ± 12.6° in the daytime feeding and 35.0 ± 13.2° in the nighttime feeding. These results will provide important parameters input to calculate theoretical scattering models for estimating the acoustic target strength of sandfish.

The diet composition of Arctoscopus japonicus was studied using 448 specimens collected in the coastal waters of East Sea, Korea. The size of the specimens ranged from 6.2-25.3 cm in total length (TL). A. japonicus were fed mainly on amphipods that constituted 76.1% in IRI. Euphausiids were the second largest prey component. The diets also include small quantities of crabs, copepods, mysids, cephalopods, monogeneans, and fishes. A. japonicus showed ontogenetic changes in feeding habits. Smaller individuals (6-10 cm, TL) fed mainly on amphipods. The proportion of amphipods decreased as body size increased, whereas the consumption of euphausiids gradually increased (10-14 cm, TL). As the body size more increased, the proportion of amphipods increased whereas euphausiids decreased (14-26 cm, TL).

Changes in target strength (TS) values of sandfish when sandfish was alive and dead were investigated using ex-situ at120 kHz. TS values measured by tilt angles with ‑50∼+50 degrees showed ranges from ‑71.0 to ‑53.3 dB for live sandfish, ‑63.1~‑46.3 dB for thawed sandfish, and ‑70.0~‑50.4 dB after 24 hours from thawed, respectively. It was shown that while TS values were similar between the case of live and the case of after 24 hours from thawed, mean TS values were higher by approximately 5 dB in the case of immediate thawed sandfish. It was also seen that TS values were similar between the case of thawed sandfish and the case of after 21 hours from live. The results showed that TS values of live sandfish were different from those of frozen sandfish. It implies that when estimating TS of frozen fish, the influx of bubbles and changes of body should be considered.

Acoustic target strength (TS) measurement and theoretical acoustic scattering models were applied to estimate the TS for assessing the fish biomass. TS measurement was made of ex situ sailfin sandfish Arctoscopus japonicus at 70 and 120 kHz, and then compared to backscatter model prediction. The live sandfish was tethered in seawater using monofilament lines. Measurements were made versus incidence angle, −50° to 50° relative to dorsal aspect directions. Distorted wave Born approximation (DWBA) model was used to calculated TS pattern. The TS values of sandfish (body length: 16.2 cm) at 70 and 120 kHz were ‒66.94 dB and ‒64.45 dB, respectively, and were about 20 dB lower than TS of other fishes in Korea waters. These TS levels were distributed within the range of the theoretical TS. Ex situ measurement and theoretical TS may be applied to improve acoustical detection and biomass estimation of the sandfish, and is necessary to measure with various lengths.

This study aimed to evaluate the TAC policy and to examine the effective annual TAC quota in the sandfish stock rebuilding plan using a bioeconomic modelling method. In the analysis, first, a sandfish bioeconomic model was developed by combining a sandfish stock population model and economic models by fishery and second, achieving stock rebuilding targets and changes of fishing revenues by the level of annual TAC quota were examined. Model results indicated that the TAC 1,500ton policy would have the greatest impact on the increase of sandfish stock biomass comparing to the status quo and other TAC policies. In addition, it was evaluated that the total fishing revenues of coastal gillnet and danish seine fisheries could be increased the most in the TAC 2,500ton policy. In both cases of TAC 3,500ton and 4,000ton, the fishing revenues of both fisheries were inversely reduced due to the decrease of catch by coastal gillnet and the decline of market prices by danish seine’s excessive catch. Furthermore, they would have a negative impact on sandfish stock biomass.

This study aimed to analyze the relationship between catch amount and market price of sandfish for improvement of fishing revenues and effective fisheries management. By estimating the sandfish price function by fishery, the study tried to investigate changes of prices by catch amount as well as changes of fishing revenues by catch amount and price. Results showed that time series data on catch and price were estimated to be non-stationary from unit root tests, but long-term equilibrium relations between catch amount and price were found from a cointegration analysis. Results of regression analyses indicated that the catch amount would have negative impacts on prices of sandfish in both coastal gillnet and danish seine fisheries.

Distribution pattern and fishing conditions of sandfish, Arctoscopus japonicus in the East Sae were explored using catch and catch per unit effort (CPUE) by eastern sea Danish seine and coastal gill net fisheries from 2004 to 2008. A. japonicus was one of major target species for the eastern sea Danish seine and coastal gill net fisheries in the East Sea, which were caught from April to October for the eastern Danish seine, and from October to December for the coastal gill net, respectively. In recent, the distribution and centroid of fishing ground moved northward, as seawater temperature increased. The species spawned in the coastal areas of Gangwon, northern East Sea, during winter, started to move to deeper water after spawning from spring, extended widely from Gangwon to Ulsan, southern East Sea, during summer, and migrated back to the spawning ground off Gangwon during autumn.

In this study, energy budget was estimated to produce an efficient artificial seed. And it needs to enhance fisheries productivity of sandfish, A. japonicus. In order to estimate energy budget of the sandfish, A. japonicus juvenile fed on nonriched Artemia nauplii (NA) and the enriched Artemia nauplii (EA), of sandfish were reared at constant condition of seawater temperature of natural temperature (NT) and heated temperature (HT). During the reared period, energy used by the reared juveniles were calculated from estimates of data on ingestion, growth, oxygen consumption, nitrogen excretion and energy content. Energy budget of NT-NA, NT-EA, HT-NA and HT-EA were represented as 100C=66.49G+21.28M+0.78F+1.44U, 100C=67.54G+21.40M+9.39F+1.67U, 100C=66.86G+22.66M+8.01F+2.47U and 100C=67.06G+22.96M+7.70F+2.28U. The assimilation efficiency estimated NT-NA, NT-EA, HT-NA and HTEA were represented as 87.78%, 88.94%, 89.52% and 90.02%. Gross growth efficiency estimated NT-NA, NT-EA, HT-NA and HT-EA were represented as 66.49%, 67.54%, 66.86% and 67.06%. Net growth efficiency estimated NT-NA, NT-EA, HT-NA and HT-EA were represented as 75.75%, 75.94%, 74.68% and 74.49%. In this results, two ways could be considered to produce an efficient artificial seed of sandfish. To hasten the growth of sandfish juvenile, heated seawater (HT) and enriched Artemia nauplii (EA) should be inputted to reared condition. And to increase the energy efficiency, natural seawater (NT) and enriched Artemia nauplii (EA) should be inputted to reared condition.

To develop the artificial spawning seaweeds of the sandfish, Arctoscopus japonicus, the effects by the material type of artificial spawning seaweeds were investigated at Dongsan port in Gangwon-do from December 2006 to March 2007. Sargassum fulvellum, S. horneri, rope and net were used as materials for artificial spawning seaweeds, and the most effective thing among them was S. fulvellum. A. japonicus began to attach the egg mass to artificial spawning seaweeds when sea temperature dropped below 10℃ in December, spawned heavily when it was around 8℃ in January, and completed the behavior when it started to increase over 10℃ in February. The hatching period of eggs was estimated to be about 60 days. The middle position in artificial spawning seaweed had the highest number of egg masses and the diameter of the egg mass ranged from 25mm to 62mm. Based on the result for the effects, the artificial spawning seaweeds of A. japonicus were developed and it is possible to use them to form seaweed forests or spawning grounds of other species.

The age and growth of the sandfish, Arctoscopus japonicus were investigated from samples of the eastern sea danish seine and gill net fishery in the East Sea of Korea from February, 2004 to December, 2007. Ages were determined from annuli in otoliths and annuli were formed between December and February once a year. Also, the main spawning period was estimated to be between December and January, thus rings were considered to be annual marks. For the relationship between fork length and total weight, a multiplicative error structure was assumed because variability in growth increased as a function of the length. The relationship between fork length and total weight were TW=0.0083FL3.01(R2=0.966) for female and TW=0.0079FL3.04(R2=0.969) for male. The variability in growth was constant as a function of age, revealing an additive error structure. The von Bertalanffy growth parameters estimated by a non-linear method were L∞=31.6cm, K=0.266/year, t0=-0.835 years for female and L∞=27.7cm, K=0.273/year, t0=-0.806 years for male. Growth at age between male and female had a significant difference(P〈0.001).

The mesh selectivity of gill net for Japanese sandfish (Arctoscopus japonicus) caught in the East Sea, Korea was described. The experiment was conducted with five different kinds of mesh size (39.4, 45.5, 51.5, 53.0, 57.6mm) between November and December 2006 in spawning season. The catch was mostly Japanese sandfish (93.3%) and some others (6.7%), and almost all of the female Japanese sandfish were larger than the fork length at 50% maturity (16.7cm). The selection curve for the female Japanese sandfish caught from the experiments was fitted by the Kitahara's method to a polynomial equation which was s(R)=exp{(0.2584R3-5.3445R2+32.269R-59.868)-0.6585} where R＝l/m, and l and m are fork length and mesh size, respectively.

In this study, a peptide exhibiting antioxidant activity was isolated from sandfish (Arctoscopus japonicus) roe hydrolysate (SRH) in order to evaluate their practical uses as materials for manufacturing functional foods. The A. japonicus roe protein was hydrolyzed using Collupulin MG, and isolation of antioxidant peptide was performed using ultrafiltration (UF), prep-HPLC, and RP-HPLC. The SRH with a molecular weight below 3 kDa constituted about 38% of the whole hydrolysate, and the fraction with a molecular weight below 3 kDa showed significantly greater antioxidant activity compared to the original SRH and other fractions. The isolation fold of the antioxidant peptide isolated from SRH throughout the four-step procedure was 7.11-fold, and protein yield was 14.8%. The DPPH radical scavenging activity of isolated antioxidant peptide was above 90% at a concentration of 1.0 mg/mL, which was similar to that of the Trolox at a concentration of 0.1 mg/mL. These results suggested that the antioxidant peptide derived from A. japonicus roe could be a useful additive for producing functional foods and protein supplements. However, it is necessary to perform further study the structural characteristics of this antioxidant peptide isolated from A. japonicus roe.