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May. 2025 issue No.257

Russell's snapper

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Many similar types of fish

I have handled and cooked many similar fish in the past, but I don't remember if I have ever handled this fish as a product. What I can say for sure is that I have never featured this fish in FISH FOOD TIMES in the past.

The standard Japanese name for this fish is kurohoshifuedai, in Okinawa it is called Yamatubi, Tuby, or Sukushibi, in Kagoshima it is called Montsuki, in Kochi Prefecture it is called Kurohoshi or Kuroten, and it is also called by various other names in the southwestern region of the country. The English name Russell's snapper belongs to the Lutjanidae family, Lutjanidae genus, and the following fish from the same Lutjanidae family have been featured in FISH FOOD TIMES in the past.

Lutjanidae family Etelis genus Etelis   April 2015 Issue No.13

 

Lutjanidae family Pristipomoides genus Pristipomoides sieboldii May 2018 Issue No.173

Lutjanidae family Paracaesio genus Paracaesio caerulea   May 2019 Issue No.18

 

On the other hand, there are fish in the Lethrinidae family, which have names very similar to those of the Lutjanidae family. FISH FOOD TIMES has previously featured the following Lethrinidae fish in articles.

Lethrinidae family Gymnocranius genus Gymnocranius   September 2018 Issue No.177

 

Lethrinidae family Lethrinus genus Lethrinus nebulosus   June 2024 issue No.246

 

When comparing the Russell's snapper with two other fish species in the Lethrinidae family, its appearance appears to be similar to that of the Lethrinidae family, but the Russell's snapper belongs to the Lutjanidae family.

There are more than 30 known species in the Lutjanidae family, and I have only written about three of them in my articles so far, but what they all have in common is that they are all delicious.  Among them, Russell's snapper in particular is relatively rare on the market, and although it cannot be called rare, it is not widely distributed, so when it arrives at the fish market, it is said to be traded at a fairly high price, partly because it is a delicious natural white fish.

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Russell's snapper boiled fish and meuniere

In this way, I decided to improve the cost performance of the Russell's Snapper, which is not usually cheap, by using the whole fish including the head, and to commercialize four items from one fish. The first step in preparation is the disassembling of the two pieces, leaving the head on.

Russell's Snapper two pieces disassembling process
1，Remove scales while pouring water over them.	5，Remove the lump of the blood using a tool while pouring water over it.	9，Hold down the head with your left hand, push the tip of the Deba knife to the left, and split the head in half.
2，Cut the gill membrane.	6，Wipe off any water from the body of the fish, and with the head still attached, cut along the anal fin of the lower body towards the backbone.	10，If you are unable to cut the base of the jaw, push it with the tip of the blade to cut it.
3，Cut open the middle of the abdomen and remove the innards.	7，Cut along the top of the central bone from the edge of the dorsal fin to the backbone.	11，Cut off the end of the tail fin that is still attached.
4，Make an incision in the film of the lump of blood inside the abdominal cavity with the tip of a knife.	8，Move the cutting edge from near the tail fin toward the head to separate the joined part of the backbone.	12，Two pieces disassembled with the head still attached.

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Russell's snapper fillets and their dishes

As shown in the work process image above, Russell's snapper was disassembled into two pieces with the head attached, but this was done in order to commercialize two types of fillets, one for boiling and one for meuniere, using only the upper body with bones.

Russell's snapper boiled fish and meuniere fillet work process
1，Upper body with two pieces of Russell's snapper disassembled with the head still attached.	7，Move the cutting edge toward the head through the cut hole and separate the joint of the backbone.
2，Instead of leaving just the head next to a collar of fish, a large portion of meat is left next to the head, ensuring a large amount of edible material for boiled�fish.	8，Separate the part at the tail fin that is still connected.
3，Russell's snapper fillet is not just a head with low value, but a fillet that can be used as a fillet for boiled fish.	9，The tail side of the upper body is two pieces disassembled.
4，On the tail side, cut from the edge of the dorsal fin and continue cutting down to the backbone.	10，The abdomen is reshaped by removing small bones and other parts.
5，Make the cut from the edge of the anal fin and continue cutting all the way to the backbone.	11，Cut off the end of the tail and shape it.
6，Hold the fish down with your left hand and make a hole to insert the tip of the knife.	12，The boneless fillet for meunière from the tail side is complete.

 

Make the finished Russell's snapper fillets into boiled fish and meuniere.

Russell's snapper boiled fish process
1，Add the head fillet to the simmering broth.
2，Cover with a drop lid and bring to a boil.
3，Using a ladle, occasionally pour the broth over the fish to finish the flavor.
Russell's snapper boiled fish is completed.

 

Next, the fillets, skin-on and boneless tail side, are cooked into a meunière.

Russell's snapper meuniere work process
1，Dust the skin-on, boneless tail fillet with flour.
2，Melt butter in a frying pan.
3，Place the fillets skin side down into the frying pan and check to see if the skin is cooked before flipping.
4，Once the skin has browned to the desired color, grill the other side to get a nice looking finish.
Russell's snapper meuniere is completed with baby leaves, cherry tomatoes, lemon, etc.

 

The white flesh of Russell's snapper has a very refined taste, and I felt it was a delicious fish in any dish.
Unlike farmed fish, it had just the right amount of fat, and was delicious even when the dish cooled down, with a well-balanced flavor of wild white fish.

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Russell's snapper sashimi and sushi

Next is sashimi and sushi.

Russell's Snapper's Nigiri Sushi
１，Cut off the head of the lower body, leaving a little extra edible part next to the collar of fish.	5，The skin of the lower body has been removed.
2，Remove the abdominal bone.	6，In order to make the dorsal part closer to a rectangle, the cut should be shaped to penetrate into the caudal side of the belly body.
3，Remove the belly bone, cut the ends and shape.	7，In the left position, cut the abdominal bone using the sogitukuri technique.
4，The skin is removed using the sotobiki technique.	8，Make five pieces of sushi toppings using the belly body.
Using the belly body, I made five pieces of Russell's Snapper nigiri sushi.

 

Since nigiri sushi uses only the belly body, the remaining back body will be used to commercialize sashimi.

Russell's Snapper's Usutsukuri Sashimi
１，Turn your body to the right and make the back body of the fish into usutsukuri sashimi.	４，Place a circular layer of Japanese radish garnish on the inside and then top with usutsukuri sashimi.
２，Arrange the Japanese radish garnish in a semicircular shape and place thinly sliced sashimi on top.	５，As a finishing touch, add sliced cucumber as a garnish.
３，When arranging the sashimi, keep in mind a radial shape.	６，Shape the cucumbers so that they also form a radial shape.
Russell's Snapper's Usutsukuri Sashimi

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Fish belonging to the Lutjanidae family are increasing in northern waters as well.

I didn't think I would be able to buy a fish called Russell's snapper in Fukuoka, where I live. Although it is not uncommon to see a fish similar to this one in Okinawa, in the south of Japan, I have almost never seen this kind of fish in Fukuoka, in the north of Kyushu, in the past.

However, Russell's snapper can now be obtained in Fukuoka without having to order it from Okinawa. This seems to be due to changes in the ocean environment, and I found the following research paper online, so I would like to introduce it almost in its entirety without cutting out too much, as a sign of respect for the paper's author. (Note that there are other figures and images published, but I have only included a portion of them.)

Tokushima Fisheries Research Institute Newsletter No. 115 (Published November 2023) Recent Increase in the Lutjanidae Family and the Lethrinidae Family by Yoko Ishikawa, Marine Production Technology Officer

The seawater temperature in the waters surrounding Tokushima Prefecture has been rising for a long time. In addition, the Kuroshio Current has been meandering since the summer of 2017, causing the current to move far away from the coast at Cape Muroto. Whether due to one of these influences or for a completely different reason, there is information that the catches of fish from the Lutjanidae and Lethriniidae families have been increasing in recent years.  In fact, I have been seeing them more often at fish landing sites.  The Lutjanidae family, Lethrinidae, is a so-called "southern" fish, with a wide distribution range from Tokushima Prefecture southward. Fish of the Lutjanidae family that can be caught in Tokushima Prefecture include the Star Snapper, Russell's Snapper, Brownstripe Red Snapper, and Yellowtail Blue Snapper.  Fish in the Lethrinidae family include the grey large-eye bream, the spangled emperor, and the threadfin emperor. The spangled emperor is called "Taman" in Okinawa and is sometimes counted as one of the three major fish in Okinawa. Survey Contents As part of its research, the Fisheries Research Division is receiving catch data from 16 fishing cooperatives in the prefecture.  This time, we selected specimen fishing associations from each of the three sea areas of Harima Nada, Kii Channel, and Kaifu coast, and investigated whether they handled fish from the Lutjanidae family (star snapper, yellowtail blue snapper, etc.) and Lethrinidae family (grey large-eye bream, spangled emperor, etc.) and trends in landing volumes.  We also interviewed people involved in the fishing industry and asked the Wakayama Prefectural Fisheries Experimental Station and the Kochi Prefectural Fisheries Experimental Station for information on the situation in neighboring prefectures. Survey result 1 We have summarized whether or not fish belonging to the Lutjanidae Family and Lethrinidae family are handled in each sea area.  When landings are very low and the fish are cheap, they may not be landed or their individual landing status may be unknown as they are listed as "other fish." However, since fish of the Lutjanidae family and Lethrinidae family can be expected to command a certain level of price, if they are caught of an appropriate size, they will likely be landed and included in the landing data. A positive effect of rising water temperature? The Lutjanidae and Lethrinidae families are fish with relatively stable and high unit prices. Although rising water temperatures are often discussed as having a negative impact, an increase in the catch of these fish is a positive factor that will lead to an increase in the income of fishermen.  This fish from the Lutjanidae family, Lethrinidae, is still little known, but in the future it may become a part of Tokushima's brand seafood.

 

What emerges from this document are figures and graphs showing that fish originally living in the south are now increasingly being caught in the north as a result of changes in ocean temperature. In other words, it is not so much that the fish stocks of the Lutjanidae Family and Lethrinidae Family are increasing, but rather that fishing in northern waters is increasing.

It is possible that this phenomenon will end up being temporary. This is because while seawater temperatures can rise, they can also fall, as they did this year. The winter temperatures in Japan from 2024 to 2025 were unusually cold, so seawater temperatures are also likely to be low, and people in the fishing industry are saying that "the fishing season is two months late this year."

As readers will know, most mammals, including humans, are warm-blooded animals, meaning that their body temperature does not change significantly due to the influence of environmental temperature, allowing them to always maintain a stable, high level of activity.  On the other hand, most fish are cold-blooded animals, and their body temperature is roughly the same as the environmental water temperature in which they live.  Since cold-blooded fish have a body temperature that is about the same as the water temperature, they can significantly reduce their energy consumption and therefore can carry out normal activities even if their body temperature fluctuates slightly depending on the water temperature.  However, there is a disadvantage in that if the environmental water temperature changes significantly to a certain level or above, and body temperature changes significantly, this will have a major impact on activity.

In recent years, there has been a lot of talk about the severe shortage of autumn salmon catches, but the autumn salmon, also known as chum salmon, is extremely sensitive to changes in the water temperature of the environment in which it lives.  For example, the upper limit of survival temperature for larvae and juveniles is 22.6°C, while the limit of death is 23.8°C.  Then, when autumn salmon, who have grown up in the sea and become adults, return to their home rivers during the autumn upstream migration, the appropriate water temperature is between 0℃ and 20℃, and the optimal water temperature is said to be 3℃ to 12℃.  Ideally, the water temperature in the rivers and nearby seas where fish are born and raised in Hokkaido and Hokuriku would be "below 20°C, and ideally below 12°C."

This year, the author feels that there have been many cold days even in the latter half of April. Japan's climate environment must have changed from last year, and the incubation of wild yellowtail has been delayed by about two months, suggesting that the movement of fish in the waters around Japan has also changed.  The Russell's Snapper that I got in Fukuoka this time may have to be purchased in Okinawa next year.  This is because the term "global warming" has now been fundamentally questioned from the standpoint of scientific proof, and has been replaced by the term "climate change." This replacement has been made so that the opposite meaning, "global cooling," also falls under the category of the term. In other words, we should keep in mind that the Earth's temperature may not necessarily continue to rise in the future.

In the waters off the coast of Japan, there are many other delicious wild fish, including the delicious Russell's snapper. If you don't have any doubts about the fish section that relies heavily on farmed fish and imported frozen fish, isn't that the same as not having any doubts about what is called common sense around the world, such as global warming?

I wonder if the fish retail environment that our readers are involved in has a good selection of fresh, delicious natural fish. As the ocean environment changes, the wild fish that they sell must also change, and I would like to see them incorporate changes in the fish that they sell while also responding to changes in Japan's climate, making the fish sales floor more attractive.

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An opinion and the communication are to iinfo@fish food times

Date of updating 1 May. 2025