The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™
ISSN 2307-8235 (online)
IUCN 2008: T20795A9230697
Stereolepis gigas, Giant Sea Bass
Assessment by: Cornish, A. (Grouper & Wrasse Specialist Group)
View on www.iucnredlist.org
Citation: Cornish, A. (Grouper & Wrasse Specialist Group). 2004. Stereolepis gigas. The IUCN Red
List of Threatened Species 2004: e.T20795A9230697.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T20795A9230697.en
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THE IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES™
Taxonomy
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Animalia
Chordata
Actinopterygii
Perciformes
Polyprionidae
Taxon Name: Stereolepis gigas Ayres, 1859
Common Name(s):
• English:
Giant Sea Bass, Black Sea Bass
Taxonomic Notes:
Giant sea bass was originally assigned to the grouper family, Serranidae, but was later placed in a new
family called the Percichthyidae (Domeier 2001).
Assessment Information
Red List Category & Criteria:
Critically Endangered A1bd ver 3.1
Year Published:
2004
Date Assessed:
April 30, 2004
Annotations:
Needs Updating
Justification:
Giant Sea Bass was classified as a Critically Endangered species by IUCN in 1996. This assessment
presents additional information to support that assessment. The American Fisheries Society classified
the species as Threatened (Musick et al. 2000).
Pre-exploitation biomass for Southern California populations of the Giant Sea Bass was estimated to be
1,300 tons (1,179 tonnes) (Ragen 1991). The fish was so heavily exploited in both California and Mexican
waters that the commercial landings declined rapidly from 115 tonnes in 1932 to 5 tonnes in 1980 in
California waters, whereas it decreased greatly from 363 tonnes to 12 tonnes in Mexican waters over
the same period (Domeier 2001). The annual landings (in tonnes) of the species in California fluctuated
in the 1990s: 3.3 (1990), 5.3 (1991), 3.9 (1992), 2.1 (1993), 0.4 (1994), 0.5 (1995), 0.9 (1996), 1.1 (1997),
2.9 (1998), 2.4 (1999), 2.0 (2000) and 2.6 (2001) (NMFS 2003). Reports of landings from Hawaii from
NMFS, WpacFIN website and DAR (2003) are in error, the correct species being Epinephelus quernus.
The error is due to the wrong common name being used in these reports (W. Ikehara pers. comm.).
Currently, it is suggested that the population size of Giant Sea Bass in California may be increasing as it is
under protection (Domeier 2001); however, there are no hard data to support it. Due to the heavy
harvest in Mexico and the long generation time (estimated at 7–10 years) (Domeier 2001). It is also
possible that the species may need additional protection in Mexico but more information is needed.
The current status should not be changed until data about the actual or relative abundance of the
species are collected.
The species is particularly vulnerable due to its very limited distribution, its very large size and its
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Stereolepis gigas – published in 2004.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T20795A9230697.en
1
aggregation spawning. It is not known how effective management is.
Previously Published Red List Assessments
1996 – Critically Endangered (CR)
Geographic Range
Range Description:
Eastern Pacific: from Humboldt Bay in California, U.S.A. to the tip of Baja, Mexico; also found in the
northern half of the Gulf of California (Domeier 2001). Supposedly also occurs in the coastal waters of
northern Japan (the Sea of Japan) (Masuda et al. 1992); but the occurrence in Japan is probably a
misidentification (Domeier 2001).
Country Occurrence:
Native: Mexico (Baja California, Sonora); United States (California)
FAO Marine Fishing Areas:
Native: Pacific - eastern central
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Stereolepis gigas – published in 2004.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T20795A9230697.en
2
Population
It is now very rare in the Gulf of California (Musick et al. 2000). Minimum population doubling time is
more than 14 years (Musick et al. 2000).
Current Population Trend: Unknown
Habitat and Ecology (see Appendix for additional information)
Juveniles are usually found in and around kelp beds as well as sandy bottom areas at depths 12–21 m
(Crooke 1992), whereas adults are usually found deeper than 30 m and they tend to inhabit rocky
bottoms where kelp beds are nearby (Eschmeyer et al. 1983).
Reproductive Biology
The fish mature at 7 to 10 years (Domeier 2001). The maximum size of male/unsexed giant sea bass is
250 cm TL (IGFA 2001). Spawning aggregations are formed and remain together for one or two months
over the period of June to September (Crooke 1992).
Systems: Marine
Threats (see Appendix for additional information)
The major threat is from overfishing; however, the species is protected in California (this legislation also
covers U.S. fishers in Mexican waters) although incidental catches are allowed (see Conservation
Measures below).
Conservation Actions
The fish has been protected in California since 1982 and protected in Mexico since 1992 (Crooke 1992).
California State Legislature banned both commercial and recreational fishing for Giant Sea Bass in 1981
in response to the great decline in population, but it allowed two fish per angler per trip when fishing
south of United States-Mexico border (Crooke 1992) and allowed one fish per trip if taken incidentally in
gill or trammel net by commercial fisherman (Domeier 2001).
The species can still be caught in Mexico (M. Domeier, pers. comm.).
The law limited the amount of Giant Sea Bass that could be taken in Mexican waters and landed in
California (could not land more than 3,000 lbs in a calendar year). The ban of inshore gill nets in
California was introduced in 1990, which was considered a way to significantly reduce the incidental
mortality of Giant Sea Bass (Domeier 2001).
Credits
Assessor(s):
Cornish, A. (Grouper & Wrasse Specialist Group)
Reviewer(s):
Sadovy, Y. & Domeier, M. (Grouper & Wrasse Red List Authority)
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Stereolepis gigas – published in 2004.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T20795A9230697.en
3
Bibliography
Baillie, J. and Groombridge, B. (eds). 1996. 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. pp. 378.
International Union for Conservation of Nature, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.
Crooke, S.J. 1992. History of Giant Sea Bass Fishery. California Department of Fish and Game, In:
California’s Marine Resources and their Utilization, University of California at Davis.
Division of Aquatic Resources. 2003. Hawaii fishing regulations. Division of Aquatic Resources,
Department of Land and Natural Resources of State of Hawaii. Online report (Accessed: 22 August
2003).
Domeier, M.L. 2001. History of fishery of Giant Sea Bass. California’s Living Marine Resources: A status
report. California, University of California.
Eschmeyer, W.N., Herald, E.S. and Hammann, H. 1983. A field guide to Pacific coast fishes of North
America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, USA.
International Game Fish Association. 2001. Database of IGFA angling records until 2001. International
Game Fish Association, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.
IUCN. 2004. 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 23
November 2004.
Masuda, H., Amaoka, K., Araga, C., Uyeno, T. and Yoshino, T. 1984. The fishes of the Japanese
Archipelago. Tokai University Press, Tokyo, Japan.
Musick, J.A., Harbin, M.M., Berkeley, S.A., Burgess, G.H., Eklund, A.M., Findley, L., Gilmore, R.G., Golden,
J.T., Ha, D.S., Huntsman, G.R., McGovern, J.C., Parker, S.J., Poss, S.G., Sala, E., Schmidt T.W., Sedberry,
G.R., Weeks, H. and Wright, S.G. 2000. Marine, estuarine, and diadromous fish stocks at risk of
extinction in North America (Exclusive of Pacific Salmonids). Fisheries 25(11): 6-30.
National Marine Fisheries Service. 2003. Commercial fisheries landings data by the Fisheries Statistics &
Economics Division of the National Marine Fisheries Service, US. Online report (Accessed: 30 April
2004).
Ragen, T.J. 1991. The estimation of theoretical population levels for natural populations. California
University, San Diego. Dissertation Abstracts International Part B: Science and Engineering 51(11): 192.
Western Pacific Fishery Information Network. 2002. State of Hawaii 2000 fishery statistics. Division of
Aquatic Resources and the Western Pacific Fishery Information Network.
Citation
Cornish, A. (Grouper & Wrasse Specialist Group). 2004. Stereolepis gigas. The IUCN Red List of
Threatened Species 2004: e.T20795A9230697.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T20795A9230697.en
Disclaimer
To make use of this information, please check the Terms of Use.
External Resources
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Stereolepis gigas – published in 2004.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T20795A9230697.en
4
For Images and External Links to Additional Information, please see the Red List website.
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Stereolepis gigas – published in 2004.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T20795A9230697.en
5
Appendix
Habitats
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
Habitat
Season
Suitability
Major
Importance?
9. Marine Neritic -> 9.7. Marine Neritic - Macroalgal/Kelp
-
Suitable
-
Threats
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
Threat
Timing
Scope
Severity
Impact Score
5. Biological resource use -> 5.4. Fishing & harvesting
aquatic resources -> 5.4.1. Intentional use:
(subsistence/small scale)
Ongoing
-
-
-
Stresses:
2. Species Stresses -> 2.1. Species mortality
Past,
unlikely to
return
-
Stresses:
2. Species Stresses -> 2.1. Species mortality
Ongoing
-
Stresses:
2. Species Stresses -> 2.1. Species mortality
5. Biological resource use -> 5.4. Fishing & harvesting
aquatic resources -> 5.4.2. Intentional use: (large
scale)
5. Biological resource use -> 5.4. Fishing & harvesting
aquatic resources -> 5.4.4. Unintentional effects:
(large scale)
-
-
-
-
Research Needed
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
Research Needed
1. Research -> 1.2. Population size, distribution & trends
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Stereolepis gigas – published in 2004.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T20795A9230697.en
6
The IUCN Red List Partnership
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is produced and managed by the IUCN Global Species
Programme, the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) and The IUCN Red List Partnership. The IUCN
Red List Partners are: BirdLife International; Botanic Gardens Conservation International; Conservation
International; Microsoft; NatureServe; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Sapienza University of Rome; Texas
A&M University; Wildscreen; and Zoological Society of London.
THE IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES™