Bull. Jpn. Soc. Fish. Oceanogr. 83(2), Page 93-103, 2019   Particle-tracking experiments of the transport of eggs, larvae and juveniles of red tilefish Branchiostegus japonicus from the East China Sea to the coastal area of Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan Kazuo Ishikawa1, Sachihiko Itoh1†, Hirohiko Nakamura2,Ayako Nishina2,Tomonori Saito3 and Tsutomu Tokeshi4 1 Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, 5–1–5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277–8564, Japan 2 Faculty of Fisheries, Kagoshima University, 4–50–20 Shimoarata, Kagoshima 890–0056, Japan 3 Minaminaka Agriculture and Forestry Promotion Bureau, Miyazaki Prefecture, 1–12–1 Todaka, Nichinan, Miyazaki 887–0031, Japan 4 Fishery Research Institute, Miyazaki Prefectural Government, 6–16–3 Aoshima, Miyazaki, Miyazaki 889–2162, Japan † E-mail: itohsach@aori.u-tokyo.ac.jp This study investigated transport processes of red tilefish Branchiostegus japonicus from the East China Sea to the coastal area of Miyazaki Prefecture by particle-tracking experiments. Particles were released from areas along the shelf break of the East China Sea in autumn, which are the main spawning ground and season, respectively, and the movement patterns and paths were examined using reanalysis data of an ocean data assimilation system. After 45 days from the release, which is the average duration until settlement, 0.01–0.7% of particles released in the East China Sea reached the coastal area of Miyazaki Prefecture. Among them, 90% and 10% of particles passed through the Ohsumi and the Tokara Straits, respectively. The number of particles reaching Miyazaki Prefecture was positively correlated with those passing through the Ohsumi Strait, while mass arrival events were further related to the deceleration of the Ohsumi Branch Current caused by a small meander of the Kuroshio. Proportions of particles by destination at Day 45, including those not reaching Miyazaki Prefecture, were 10.8% to the Pacific, 1.5% to the Sea of Japan, and 88% remained within the East China Sea. Therefore, it is likely that red tilefish has a major reproduction cycle within the East China Sea, while larvae and juveniles were also supplied from there to Japanese coastal areas. Finally, it is suggested that the Ohsumi Strait is the main passage of larval/juvenile transport of red tilefish, from the East China Sea to the coastal areas of Miyazaki Prefecture. Key words: red tilefish, larval transport, particle-tracking experiment, the East China Sea, the Ohsumi Strait