Sayori (English spelling) halfbeak fish

A marine fish belonging to the family Halfbeak, order Garcinia, class of Osteichthyes. There are two theories about the origin of the name "halfbeak": one is that they gather in large numbers in streams, and the other is that they have a narrow body and tend to be gregarious. They are closely related to the families Garcinidae, Sauryidae, and Flying Fish. In the past, they were called Yorito, Yoroto, and Yorotsu. They are the most commonly found species in Japan, and are found throughout Japan (except for the Ryukyu Islands and Ogasawara Islands), Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, the Yellow Sea, and Taiwan. Their lower jaw protrudes long and beak-like. Their dorsal and anal fins are located near the caudal fin. They can be distinguished from other species by their features, such as the presence of scales on the back of their snout, the rear edge of their caudal fin not being deeply indented, and their lower jaw being shorter than their head length. They grow to about 40 centimeters in total length.

They live in coastal areas and also enter rivers and lakes. Juveniles and adults have the habit of jumping on the water surface, and when danger approaches, they will jump above the water surface several times to escape from predators. This habit is also found in the closely related needlefish, and is thought to have developed further into the gliding leap of flying fish.

Both males and females reach maturity at one year of age, when their body length is about 20 centimeters. The spawning season is from April to July, with the peak season being around May and June, when the water temperature is 18 to 20 degrees Celsius. They appear in groups of a dozen or so at seaweed beds or drifting seaweed, and lay their bodies near the water surface, sometimes even lying on the seaweed that covers the surface, to spawn. Mature eggs are spherical and 2.2 millimeters in diameter, with several long threads in the egg membrane and one slightly thicker and longer thread 180 degrees away from them, which become entangled in sargassum, eelgrass, driftwood, etc. As the fertilized eggs develop, they change from yellowish brown to greenish brown, and turn dark green near hatching. The newly hatched larvae are nearly 8 millimeters long and swim around actively. Ten days after hatching, they reach 12 millimeters in length and their lower jaw begins to grow, and metamorphosis is complete at 25 millimeters. The larvae feed on small crustaceans found in the plankton, and then on eelgrass, crustaceans, and insects that fall to the water surface. The larvae are born around May and reach 14cm in August, 18cm in October, 25cm at one year of age, and 30cm in September. Males reach maturity after one or two years, while females reach maturity after two years. They live for two years.

They are caught using gill nets, longlines, and fishing. They gather on the shore or at the mouth of a river, where they are attracted by scattering minced mysids or sardines, and then fished for with bait such as worms, bloodworms, and strips of peeled shrimp. A closely related fish is the Kurumesayori (halfbeak), Hyporhamphus intermedius .

[Akira Ochiai and Kunio Amano]

The brighter the red color at the tip of the lower jaw, the fresher it is. It is a high-class fish with little fat, a light white meat taste and a pleasant aroma. It is delicious from spring to autumn. Its body is long and slender, and the flesh is relatively thick, so it is filleted and used. Its belly is black, which does not look good in cooking, so when filleted, the black part must be carefully removed. In cooking, the long flesh is rolled or tied and used as a soup topping, in tempura, and in simmered dishes. For sashimi and vinegared dishes, the flesh is long and slender, so it is usually made into threads. It can also be used as a topping for nigiri sushi and oshizushi.

[Tomomi Kono and Midori Otaki]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

硬骨魚綱ダツ目サヨリ科に属する海水魚。サヨリの語源は、沢に多く寄り集まるという説と、体が狭くて群集性があるという説とがある。ダツ科、サンマ科、トビウオ科に近縁である。古くはヨリト、ヨロト、ヨロツなどとよんだ。日本ではもっとも普通にみられる種で、日本各地（南西諸島、小笠原諸島を除く）および樺太(からふと)（サハリン）、朝鮮半島、黄海、台湾に分布する。下顎(かがく)がくちばし状に長く突き出る。背びれと臀(しり)びれは尾びれ近くに位置する。吻(ふん)の背面に鱗(うろこ)があり、尾びれの後縁は深く湾入しない、下顎は頭長より短いなどの特徴で、他種と区別できる。全長40センチメートルほどになる。

　沿岸域に生息し、河口、湖などにも入り込む。稚魚や成魚は水面上を跳びはねる習性があり、危険が迫ると数回にわたり、水面上へ飛び上がり、外敵から逃げる。この習性は近縁のダツにもあり、さらに発達してトビウオ類の滑空飛躍となったと考えられている。

　雌雄とも満1歳、体長20センチメートル前後で成熟しだす。産卵期は4～7月、最盛期は5、6月前後で、このころの水温は18～20℃である。藻場(もば)または流れ藻などのある所へ十数尾ずつ群れをつくって出現し、水面近く、ときには水面を覆う藻の上に体を横たえて産卵する。熟卵は球形で直径2.2ミリメートル、卵膜に数本の長い糸状物と、それから180度対した側に1本のやや太くて長い糸があり、これらでホンダワラ、アマモ、流木の枝などに絡まる。受精した卵は、発生が進むにつれ、黄褐色から緑褐色に変わり、孵化(ふか)近くには暗緑色となる。孵化したばかりの仔魚(しぎょ)は全長8ミリメートル近くあり、活発に泳ぎ回る。孵化後10日目で12ミリメートルとなって下顎が伸び始め、25ミリメートルで変態は完了する。仔魚はプランクトンの小形甲殻類を食べ、その後はアマモ、甲殻類、水面に落下した昆虫などを食べる。5月ごろに生まれたものは、8月に14センチメートル、10月に18センチメートル、満1歳で25センチメートル、9月に30センチメートルになる。雄は1年または2年で、雌は2年で成熟する。寿命は満2歳である。

　刺網、延縄(はえなわ)、釣りによって漁獲される。岸辺や河口に集まったものを、アミ類やイワシ類のミンチを散布して魚群を集め、ゴカイやイソメ類のほか、エビのむき身の細片などを餌(えさ)にして釣る。近縁にクルメサヨリHyporhamphus intermediusがある。

［落合　明・尼岡邦夫］

　下あごの先の紅色の鮮やかなものほど新鮮である。脂質は少なく白身の淡泊な味で、よい香りをもつ高級魚。春から秋にかけてが美味。体が細長いうえ、身も比較的厚いので、三枚におろして用いる。腹が黒く、料理の見かけがよくないので、おろしたものは黒い部分をていねいにとる必要がある。料理には、長い身を巻いたり、結んだりして、吸い物の椀種(わんだね)、てんぷら、煮物などに用いる。刺身、酢の物は、身が細く長いので、通常、糸づくりにする。握りずし、押しずしの種にもなる。

［河野友美・大滝　緑］

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