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Napoleon Wrasse One of the Most Endangered Reef Fish

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Read more about the spectacular life such as the Napoleon Wrasse in our oceans in our marine life blogs. Do you know there is a way to have protection from the sun whilst still protecting the reef? Click here to read the facts about reef safe sunscreen.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Napoleon Wrasse - Cheilinus undulatus

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Napoleon wrasse can be found throughout the Indo Pacific region and the east coast of Africa through to central Pacific area. In Australia\'s Great Barrier Reef you can even interact with the friendly individuals who will follow you on a dive. Sightings in Asia are lower than expected due to the restaurant trade and illegal fishing practices. This has resulted in the Napoleon Wrasse becoming one of the most endangered reef fish in the world. They are found over a large area but not common anywhere within the range. They are solitary mostly only infrequently seen in male / female pairs.

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Their natural habitat is coral reef edges and drop-offs down to over 100m, but the juveniles are often seen in shallow lagoons and branching corals. When feeding during the day they do come shallower, as they become older they spend the majority of their time offshore.  At night they often shelter in caves or reef areas. A male adult can reach more than 2m in length and weigh over 190kg. The female is usually around three times smaller. They are very distinctive with the large size, bump on the forehead. Large lips, strong teeth, markings behind the eyes and their blue-green colouration.

In some areas, though they have become “tame” to some extent and interact with divers. Their eyes continually watch the divers with intelligence and awareness, and they even enjoy tactile interactions pressing against or nudging against humans.

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Diet

Napoleon wrasse are carnivores feeding on shellfish, sea stars and urchins. They can crush shells with their teeth and even coral rubble to forage for mussels and worms. They are predators that can ingest poisonous marine life such as sea hares, boxfish or crown of thorns. So they are essential to the reef health and balancing the food chain.

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Reproduction

Adult Napoleon wrasse are hermaphrodites, so they can switch gender if required. As such there are three types of juveniles. They are - initial phase males - terminal phase males or females. A female to male gender change usually happens when the dominant male dies. Here a larger female changes to a male to ensure the survival of the species, this is generally at around nine years of age.

During mating season the wrasse come together in large groups, up to 100, and pair form, the fertilisation of the eggs in water, once the larvae hatch they settle on a substrate. The juveniles take 5 to 7 years to reach maturity, and the fish have a long lifespan of between 25 to 30 years.

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They have few predators mainly due to their size but are hunted by sharks, although humans remain their biggest threat.

The Napoleon wrasse is a spectacular sight in the ocean. But they do need to be protected across all of their habitats, or it may be forced into extinction. The population is in decline, and the life cycle of the fish make it particularly vulnerable to exploitation.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][vc_column_text]

Threats to the Population

They are on the Red List of Threatened Species for the IUCN and is listed for protection by CITES.

The meat from the Napoleon wrasse is highly prized especially in Asia, especially Hong Kong, where it is a luxury food. They can be seen in restaurant aquariums and fetch up to 100 USD per kg. This price is increasing as the population declines. They cannot be reared in captivity, so every fish is taken from the wild. Cyanide is used to stun the fish which also devastates the coral reef. A mix of juveniles and mature adults are harvested this way, which further devastates the population as they take so long to reach maturity.

Some countries have put some measures in place to protect the species, but recovery time is very long. Even in these protected areas sightings are down by up to 50% over the past 30 years.

Habitat loss is also another factor in the decline of the population. It is estimated that 25% of the coral reefs in the world are damaged beyond repair and that another 66% are currently under threat.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"15995\" img_size=\"full\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Images were provided by Debbie Arriaga[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]