Known in Japan as hatahata (ハタハタ, 鰰, 鱩, 燭魚), it is a commercially important fish especially for Akita and Yamagata prefectures.

[8] The males reach sexual maturity at 1+1⁄2 years of age and beyond, and females at the 2-year-old stage; the individuals do not die after single spawning, and have several breeding cycles during their life span.

[15] The population groups are:[16][17] Catch production in the Tōhoku region (Northeastern Japan)'s Pacific coast (otherwise known as "Sanriku") is modest, and no regular spawning grounds have been confirmed.

[17] Migration routes have not been charted, but their travel range is considered extensive, since individuals from the Hokkaido and Sea of Japan population groups have been captured in the Sanriku shore.

[26] It is active nocturnally, and during the day time lies buried in the mud or sand on the sea bottom, with only the mouth and eyes (and the spine) visible.

Researchers hypothesize that the intake of astaxanthin influences the idoxanthin concentration in the body, which result in the egg color change.

[29] The Japanese name hatahata may be written as 鰰, which consists of the fish radical 魚 combined with the character kami (神) "god".

[31] An alternate Japanese name is kaminari-uwo (雷魚) "thunder fish", which derives from their spawning (and catching) season coinciding with the months when thunderstorms become frequent.

[6][32][33] In fact, hatahata is an old onomatopoeia representing the sound of the thunderclap, whose use is attested in the 10th century Kagerō Nikki, and which is the root of the verb hatata-ku "to thunder.

[51][e] The fish lacks scale, has few small bones, and the spine separates easily from the flesh, so that they are usually poached or broiled whole, or just with the head off.

Fresh hatahata can be served salted and broiled, or be poached in a pot flavored with soy sauce, sake kasu, and especially shottsuru.

[55][56] Fresh hatahata is suitable for mizuni [ja] or poaching or simmering in water (the dish in Yamagata is called yu-age[57]), and eaten with soy sauce.

[citation needed] In South Korea, the fish (known there as dorumuk (Korean: 도루묵)) is eaten in communities in Gangwon Province and elsewhere along the Sea of Japan.

[f] The Japanese folk ballad known as Akita Ondo mentions the "Oga buriko" in the lyrics, which is a reference to the roe clusters.