# Preliminary report on bycatch fish species collected from the Tokyo Submarine Canyon, Japan

## TL;DR

This paper reports seven new fish species caught in the Tokyo Submarine Canyon, highlighting the need for museum collections to preserve data for future research.

## Contribution

The study documents seven previously unrecorded fish species in the Uraga Suido Channel and emphasizes the importance of museum specimens.

## Key findings

- Seven new fish species were identified in the Uraga Suido Channel.
- Most of the new species belong to the Class Actinopterygii.
- Museum collections are highlighted as crucial for future research on the area's fish fauna.

## Abstract

An ichthyofaunal list of bycatch species was compiled, the fish captured by bottom gill-nets set at approximately 300 m depth in the Uraga Suido Channel central Japan. Fragmentary ichthyofaunal lists are available for this area; these lists have focused on chondrichthyans or commercial actinopterygians, but voucher specimens have not been prepared for museum storage. An initial list of the fish fauna was compiled with vouchers, and seven species not previously recorded from the channel are reported. Most of these species belong to the Class Actinopterygii; Apristurusplatyrhynchus (Tanaka, 1909), Beryxdecadactylus Cuvier, 1829, Hoplostethusjaponicus Hilgendorf, 1879, Sebastesiracundus (Jordan & Starks, 1904), Scalicusamiscus (Jordan & Starks, 1904), Atrobuccanibe (Jordan & Thompson, 1911), and an unidentified species of the eelpout family Zoarcidae. The taxonomic identity of the eelpout and the biogeography of the Uraga Suido Channel are considered. Further research is required to resolve outstanding faunistic issues, but live collections will likely end when the aging fishers who provide the specimens retire. At that point, existing museum collections will become increasingly important for future research. Examination of a collection that may have been previously deposited in the Chiba Prefectural Museum will be essential.