We attempted to improve the breed of red sea bream Pagrus major by mea
ns of selective breeding in order to establish red sea bream seedling
for aquaculture capable of growing more quickly than natural red sea b
ream. In about 1964, natural young fish were reared into broodstock an
d, among young fish obtained from these broodstock, those growing quic
kly were selected and reared into broodstock. This selective breeding
has been repeatedly carried out for more than 25 years. The following
results were obtained. (1) As the selective breeding was repeated, the
body weight of broodstock aged 4 years showed an increase. (2) The se
lected red sea bream seedling grew at an obviously elevated rate as th
e selective breeding was repeated. Namely, the time (days) required fo
r attaining a commercially available fish size (about 1 kg) was shorte
ned. (3) The average realized heritability, which was determined by th
e average body weight of 4-year-old broodstock and body weight of 4-ye
ar-old fish in the growth curve of each generation, was 0.33 +/- 0.28.