Stark put forward the view that the hairtail family may have evolved from Ophiopovidae through a comparative study of the skeletal system. However, the output of hairtail has always maintained a high yield, ranking first in single-species production in Chinese marine fishery. Under the pressure of high-intensity fishing in China, the production of traditional economic fishes, such as wild large yellow croaker and small yellow croaker, has sharply declined.

Hairtail (Scombriformes: Trichiuridae), mainly distributed in the Northwest Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans, are one of the main fishing objects in global and Chinese fishery, with an average annual production of 1.31 million tons from 2005 to 2016 in the world, with about 80% coming from China. Globally, marine fisheries have generally declined, and species compositions have undergone great changes. Despite temporary resource maintenance under fishery-induced evolution, the effective recovery and reasonable utilization of hairtail resources are still the main focuses of attention for Chinese marine fishery. Largehead hairtail showed the highest stability and the greatest impact on the stability of the trophic structure. Species of Trichiuridae are at the top of the food web and play a bottom-up role in regulating the trophic dynamics of marine food webs. Most individuals were 1–2 years of age, suggesting species sexual precocity and individual miniaturization under multiple stresses.

The growth parameter b could be divided into two groups, with values in species mostly inhabiting northern parts of Chinese seas higher than those in southern parts. Six species of four genera and two subfamilies were identified, and largehead hairtail ( Trichiurus japonicus) and Savalai hairtail ( Lepturacanthus savala) were the most important populations that constituted catch production. In this study, based on sampling along China’s coastal areas, the composition and distribution of common hairtail species, as well as their age, growth, and trophic traits, are discussed. However, due to the confusion of species identification, in official statistics, data on hairtail production and economic value are a combination of all the different species of Trichiuridae. Hairtail (Scombriformes: Trichiuridae) have always ranked first in single-species production in Chinese marine fishery.

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