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Humphead Wrasse
Naturally rare, and in high demand
Common Name: Humphead wrasse, Napoleon wrasse, Napoleon fish; Napoléon (Fr); Napoléon (Sp)
Scientific Name: Cheilinus undulatus
Location: Indo-Pacific
Background
The humphead wrasse is one of the largest coral reef fishes and occurs patchily throughout much of the Indo-Pacific region. Its late maturity, longevity, predictable spawning sites, sequential hermaphroditism (the fish is born as one sex and changes into the other sex later in its life) and natural rarity make it highly vulnerable to over-exploitation.
The species has been subjected to largely unmanaged fisheries that have resulted in consistent marked population declines in fished areas where the species is both protected and unprotected, and with localised extirpations at the edges of its range.
Physical Description
Adult humphead wrasse are identified by thick lips and a prominent hump on their forehead, while juveniles are a light green colour, with two black lines extending from behind the eye. The species changes in body form, colour and sex during its lifetime. However, the factors that control hermaphroditism are not known.
Adults are found on the reef during the day. At night they rest in reef caves and under coral ledges.
Size
This species reaches a maximum length of more than 2 metres and up to 190 kg in weight.
Habitat
Range States
American Samoa, Australia, British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago), Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Cook Islands, Djibouti, Egypt, Fiji, French Polynesia (Tuamotu Is.), Guam, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Mozambique, Myanmar, New Caledonia, Niue, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Seychelles, Somalia, Taiwan (Province of China), United States Minor Outlying Islands (Wake Is.)
Geographical Location
Indo-Pacific
Why is this species important?
The species is of traditional cultural importance in some Pacific countries.
Non-consumptive use of humphead wrasse is also particularly valuable to SCUBA diving operators. Some mature humphead wrasse can be found on the same stretch of reef for extended periods of time, creating special eco-tourism attractions for recreational divers of some range states such as Australia, Egypt, Indonesia and Malaysia.
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