• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.474-482
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• 2015

This study aims to investigate the patterns and incidence rates of morphological deformities during artificial fingerling production of blackhead seabream (BSB, Acanthopagrus schlegeli) juveniles by visual and soft X-ray observations of BSB juveniles (n=881) collected from four industrial hatcheries. Using both methods, we observed seven types of external deformity ($11.2{\pm}4.4%$) and eight types of skeletal deformity ($53.4{\pm}5.1%$). Lordosis occurred in all hatcheries with the highest frequency and the mean frequency was $13.1{\pm}4.4%$ (24.5% in total abnormal) by soft X-ray. Although they had a similar standard length (SL), juveniles with lordosis had a significantly lower condition factor and body weight than normally developed juveniles (P<0.05); normal distribution curves of histogram of body proportions, i.e., body height (BH)/head length (HL) and trunk (=SL-HL)/BH, indicated differences between normally developed juveniles and those with lordosis. In addition, 59% of juveniles with lordosis had vertebral curvature of less than $20^{\circ}$, generally at the $17^{th}$ vertebrae. It is expected that the above results will be used as basic data necessary for determining the cause of lordosis and for developing techniques to prevent this symptom in the fingering production industry of BSB juveniles.