This species was previously confused with Branchiostegus argentatus (Dooley 1978) and has been known to rarely hybridize with B. japonicus and B. auratus (Hiramatsu et al. 2019).

This demersal species is widely distributed and is targeted by commercial fisheries throughout its range. Significant local population declines have been recorded in the East China Sea, southern Yellow Sea and Japan since the late 1980s due to overfishing. Declines are likely elsewhere, but quantified data are not available. The generation length is unknown and a global decline approaching 30% may or may not have occurred due to overfishing. Although the generation length of this species is uncertain, it is likely that it is within the range of 15-25 years. The rate of population decline is also uncertain, but over three generations it is possible that the reduction approaches or even exceeds 30%. The range of possible categories therefore spans from Least Concern to Vulnerable, and Near Threatened is therefore selected as the most appropriate option, though further research is highly recommended.

This species is distributed from the South and East China Seas to the Yellow Sea and southern Korea, including Viet Nam from Ha Long Bay to central Viet Nam, the Spratly Islands, Hong Kong, Hainan Island, Taiwan, China, and in Japan on the Pacific coast to Sagami Bay and on the Sea of Japan coast to Wakasa Bay, including the Seto Inland Sea (Nakabo 2013, Hiramatsu et al. 2019). The depth range is 30-100 m (Kimura et al. 2018).

This species is probably common along the central coast of Viet Nam (Hiramatsu et al. 2019). It is known from at least 102 museum lots, with the largest lot containing at least four individuals (GBIF online database accessed February 2024).

A stock assessment conducted on two species in the genus Branchiostegus (B. albus and B. japonicus) from the East China Sea and southern Yellow Sea determined that the total landings had notably declined (Zhi-li et al. 2005). 

The catch of Branchiostegus tilefishes in Japan (including B. japonicus, B. albus, and B. auratus) decreased from 11,451 t in 1986 to 1,000-1,500 t in 2005, which represents a greater than 85% decline, and remained at this low level until at least 2013 (Nishioka 2019). 

This species inhabits bays and channels over mud or sand bottoms (Nakabo 2013), and is usually associated with burrows (Dooley 1999). The maximum standard length is about 60 cm (Kimura et al. 2018).

No species-specific life history information is available. A closely-related species, Branchiostegus japonicus, has been aged to 40 years in Niigata and 19 years in Tosa Bay, Japan (Iseki et al. 2022) and the age and total length at first maturity are three years and 23 cm, respectively (Yoo et al. 2008). One of the recommended methods in the IUCN Red List Guidelines for calculating generation length (IUCN Standards and Petitions Committee 2022) is “Age of first reproduction + [z * (length of the reproductive period)], where z is a number between 0 and 1; z is usually <0.5, depending on survivorship and the relative fecundity of young vs. old individuals in the population.”. Here, we use 3 years as age of first reproduction for this species, and longevity of 40 years. However, the constant z currently is not known, therefore we use z = 0.5 to estimate a likely maximum generation length for the species: 3 + [0.5 * (40-3)] = 21.5 years. Therefore, we estimate three generations to be around 64.5 years.

Overexploitation by commercial fisheries that are active throughout the range of this species is a major global level threat to its population.

This species is an important food fish in China, Korea, and southern Japan (Hiramatsu et al. 2019). It is likely taken in commercial fisheries in Viet Nam as well (Hiramatsu et al. 2019). In Taiwan, this species is collected by fisheries during the summer and fall seasons (Ho et al. 2016). In Japan, recreational fishing for tilefishes is popular (Hiramatsu et al. 2019). It is caught by hook-and-line, bottom longlines, or trawls (Dooley 1999).

There are no species-specific conservation measures.

Research is needed on the life history and population status.