The abundance and growth history of larval and juvenile Japanese seaperch Lateolabrax japonicus were investigated in the Chikugo River estuary, upper Ariake Bay, from 1990 to 2000. Growth during the larval period (up to 15 mm standard length, L S , the size at recruitment into the estuary) was backcalculated using sagittal otolith microstructures by the biological intercept method. Growth rates in length declined at body sizes...