a short review of world mullet culture · 2020. 7. 2. · in taiwan, total mullet production was...

PIDPPacific Islands Development Program

A SHORT REVIEW C `

W D MU LET QTLTM

aEast-West Center • 1777 East-West Road • Burns Hall, Room 4122 • Honolulu. Hawaii 96848

by

K. Roger Uwate

and

Peniasi Kunatuba

Pacific Islands Development ProgramFast-West CenterHonolulu, Hawaii

December 1983

Page •

List. of Tables... ................._............................. ii

I I ODUCTION .................................................... 1

BIOLo GY ......................................................... 2

DIET AND F'EED ................................................... 5

n^.IK\ aJLIUNE PRACTICES ........................................ • 6

FPY COLLECTION .................................................. 9

ARTIFICIAL SPAWNING .......................:..................... 11

I+ J S GN GlJ-CUT ............................................... 12

Nursery Ponds. • • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............. ........ 12

Grow-Apt .................................................... 12

PRGIUCT Qi1 ACTERIs'rICS........... ............. ................. 14

i.

Pacific Islands Development ProgramEast-West Center

1. Peak Fry Occurrence Period for Various MulletSpecies in Israel.... ...............•••••••••••••••••••••••• 4

2. Cif tore of Mullet Species in the World...................... 7

ii.Pacific Islands Development ProgrwEast-West Center

As part of the feasibility study of the proposed Vava'u Mullet Farm,

this paper was initiated to provide some background on mullet culture in the

world.

This background paper is not "the definitive review of mullet culture,"

but rather a more general review to provide background into current practices

in mullet culture. It also identifies key constraints in development of

mullet culture worldwide.

Pacific Islands Development ProgramEast-vest Center

Mullet, a catadronous fish, spawns in the ocean but later enters

brackish (estuaries) and freshwater areas (Hepher and Pruginin 1981).

Mullet is salinity tolerant and is able to survive in salinities of 0 to

38 percent (Bardach et al. 1972) . It is also temperature tolerant, surviving

temperatures of 3 to 3500.

According to Cato and McCullough (1976), the growth rate and initial age

at maturity of mullet are correlated with water temperature. Mullet reaches

sexual maturity at age two to five years, depending upon temperature. The

spawning season is frcan the end of surer until early winter (Hepher and

Pruginin 1981). Mullet school and migrate to sea and spawn between the

surface to 150 m (Thomson 1963) . The females produce one to three million

eggs.

According to Nash and Shehadeh (1980), from existing information, it is

not possible to define a patte rn of environmental conditions necessary for

successful natural spawning.

Mallet eggs hatch in 48 hours (Hepher and Pruginin 1981) . The larvae

stage (to 20 rrm length) is about 30 days. The larvae school and migrate to

estuaries try rheotaxis or che^notaxis. At age two to three months, fry enter

estuaries at 20 to 30 arm.

Hepher and Pruginin (1981) noted that in the Mediterranean coast of

Israel, six species of mullet are found. All species, except M. cab^ , enter

rivers and streams.

According to Hepher and Pruginin (1981), M. cephalus fry at the river

mouth are about 22 mm (0.3 g). M. capita try are 18 mm (0.2 g). At this

stage, fry concentrate in large schools. These schools disperse when fry

2Pacific Islands Develop[nent ProgramEast-West Center

grow and migrate up river.

According to Perlmutter et al. (1957) and Prugiriin et al. (1975) , there

is a cycle to the appearance of different mullet species at the mouth of

rivers. Each species appears at a certain season. Its run continues for

three to four months, with a several week peak.

The sequence of occurrence of different mullet species fry in Israel is

presented in Table 1. The various mullet species fry in Israel can be

differentiated based on work by Perlmutter et al. (1957; see also Hepher and

Pruginin 1981) .

Each species inhabits different habitats in the river. M. sal i en try

are in the lower river areas (Hepher and Pruginin 1981). M. c pito and M.

cephalus initially concentrate near the river mouth but later disperse

throughout the river.

Once dispersed, mullet fry concentrate in the backwater areas of lagoons

and rivers (Hepher and Pruginin 1981) .

3Pacific Islands Development ProgramEast-West Center

Table 1. Peak Fry Occurence Period for VariousMullet Species in Israel*

Peak £ Period

sirrrner

• 5e. us autumn and early winter

N. capito winter

M. auratus spring

*Source: Hemmer and Pruginin (1981).

4Pacific Islands Development Progr mFast-west Center

10020

M. ce (to 35 mm total length) are carnivorous and consume

microcrustaceans (Zissr nn et al. 1975) . Larger 11. cephalus eat primarily

detritus and microalgae (Thomson 1963). Adult B. cpha1us feed off the

bottom ooze of a pond and very little from the water column (Odum 1970) .

According to Ellis (1967), results of feeaing trials with the grey mullet,

.K. bus, indicated that mullet may not necessarily be bottom feeders or

detritus feeders. Mullet raised in cement bottom ponds grew better than

those in conmercial mud bottom ponds.

Hiatt (1944) noted that mullet in Hawaiian fish ponds subsisted on

littoral diatoms and blue-green algae. The diet did not differ with season

or size of fish. Mullet also browse on larger algae to consume minute

epiphytic forms.

!M. cephalus also consumes bacteria, which enable it to utilize

nonprotein nitrogen as a food source as ruminants do (Leray 1971; Cowey and

Sargent 1972).

b. cepha.lus feeding habits were also examined by de Silva and

Wijeyaratne (1976) . They observed a diurnal periodicity in feeding

activity, with peaks at dawn and midday (unrelated to tides).

,N. ca.ito, on the other hand, is primarily planktivorous (Hepher and

Pruginin 1981).

Finally, Hepher and Pruginin (1981) noted that neither L1. c pito nor

B. c plus feeds on cereal grains. Both, however, feed on protein-rich

pellets or meals.

5Pacific Islands Development ProgranEast-West Center

According to Nash and Shehadeh (1980), mullet farming has been

practised for centuries at the small and nonintensive level. Subsistence

mullet farming is a tradition in the Mediterranean region, southeast Asia,

Taiwan, Japan, and Hawaii. Traditional practises include using fenced

lagoons, creeks, and swanps and man-rade ponds.

Cou^nercial mullet culture, as currently practised, is a low-intensity

operation (Rabanal and Shang 1979).

Hepher and Pruginin (1981) noted that species of grey mullet are being

cultured successfully in China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy,

Jiipan, and the Philippines. Table 2 lists various species of mullet and

the countries in which they are cultured.

Mullet is farmed as a secondary crop to carp in Japan, the

Philippines, Indonesia, and mainland China (Nash and Shehadeh 1980). In

Indonesia, the Philippines, and Taiwan, brackish water culture is primarily

for milkfish production (Sinha 1979) . Grey mullet is the second most

important species in brackish water culture.

Polyculture with M. eba1us is also done in Hong Kong and Taiwan,

with bighead, grass, and common carp as well as milkf ish (Sinha 1979) .

Mullet is also raised in polyculture with milkfish (Rabanai and Shang

1979)

In Italy, "valli" {modified lagoons) are stocked with grey mullet (11.

capito, 1. cheic, M. salienLs, M. cis) and other fish species (Jhingran

and Natarajan 1979). Brown (1977) identified these other species as

gilthead, sea bass, and eel.

Yields of 150 kg/ha were reported with total production at 6,000 mt


N •o -

b• U

kI. dussn ei

f1• c ito*2

t1. auratus

1• e 2

Table 2. Culture of Mullet Species in World*l

ChinaHong KongIndiaJapanIsrael

IndiaPakistanIndonesia

India

India

Israel

_ _14*2

1. later*2

*1 Source: Hepher and Pruginin 1981.

*2 Growth and survival are too law to stimulate commercialinterest according to Hepher and Pruginin (1981).

7Pacific Islands Development Prc ranEast-West Center

(Brown 1977) . Jhingran and Natarajan (1979) reported yields of 90 to 200

kg/ha. The culture is extensive, with little or no feed provided (Brown

1977)

In Taiwan, total mullet production was 1,355 mt in 1975 (Chen 1977).

Of this, 1,141 mt was raised in freshwater ponds. Production is low from a

voltune standpoint; however, market price was $1.42/kg for whole fish and

dried mullet roe was $44/kg.

In Israel, polyculture is cone with common carp as the principal

species in combination with i. cephalus , N. Tito , and M. meatus (Sinha

1979; see also Bardach et al. 1972) .

In Japan, grey mullet is one of the major cultured species (Furukawa

1979) . It is cultured in 16 farms (1,449 ha) and its annual production is

about 201 mt/year.

In the People's Republic of China, both the grey mullet, M. cephalus ,

and the Northern Asian mullet, N. so-iuy , are cultured (Atkinson 1977).

In Greece, the Porto- Lago lagoon is stocked with grey mullet (Jhingran

and Natarajan 1979).

In India, the stocking of grey mullet (Mugil) is done at the

experimental level (Jhingran and Natarajan 1979).

In Yugoslavia, the Vrana Lagoon is stocked with grey mullet (Jhingran

and Natar aj an 1979).


According to Hepher and Pruginin (1981) , in most, if not all places, the

mullet fry necessary for pond stocking are collected from estuaries.

Fry can most easily be collected when they are in large schools at the

mouth of a river (Hepher and Pruginin 1981) . As they grow and disperse

upstream, it becomes more difficult to catch then in quantity. Collection is

good in areas where fry concentrate, such as in backwaters of lagoons and

rivers.

Mullet fry can be collected using a small mosquito net mesh seine

(Hepher and Pruginin 1981). According to Chandhuri and Tri}athi (1979),

dipnets are used during low tides to catch mullet fry in China. Fixed

diglets, operated from shore, are also used. In West Bengal, pieces of

coarse cloth are dragged by two people to collect mullet fry. Fine meshed

dragnets and castnets are used in other areas of India.

Periods of fry collection vary anong countries. In Israel, fry

collection occurs during autumn and winter, primarily after storms or rainy

days (Hepher and Pruginin 1981). In India, fry collection occurs in winter

(December to March). In the Philippines, r wever, fry collection is in the

spring (April to July; see Thomson 1963). In Taiwan, fry are collected from

estuarine waters on the west coast, primarily frcn December to March (Liao

1974).

During peak runs in Israel, tens of thousands of fry can be collected

per day (Hepher and Pruginin 1981) . Major catches occur after storms and

rains. They also noted that if storms are few during a run, few fry migrate

up river. The situation is not corrected if storms occur later in the

season.

9Pacific Islands Development ProgramFast-West Center

According to Hepher and Pruginin (1981) , grey mullet is sensitive to

handling and transport. Handling (with hands) removes the protective mucous

coat and scales. This results in bacterial and fungal infections.


V C41 M '^' : 40 -,

According to Rabanal and Shang (1979) , the biggest problem in the

milkfish culture industry is the uncertainty of the supply of natural fry.

wohlfarth (1977) noted that mullet fry are in short supply due to overfishing

or pollution or both.

According to Hepher and Pruginin (1981), induced spawning has been

demonstrated in Taiwan, Hawaii, and Israel. Specifically, spawning of 1i.

ceha.lus has been demonstrated in Hawaii (Shehadeh et al. 1973; Nash et al.

1974; Kuo et al. 1974) and Taiwan (Liao 1974) . Co mercial-scale supplies,

hrwwever, are not yet available. M. cephalus fry supplies are still dependent

upon fry collection schemes since the su rvival rate of fry is low (Hepher and

Pruginin 1981).

In Israel, induced spawning of h. capito has been moderately successful

(Yashouv and Berner-Sansonov 1970) . It is still not at the comercial level

of operation. According to Wohlfarth (1977), however, all attempts at

propagating mullet in Israel have failed.

In 1980, Nash and Shehadeh (1980) reviewed mullet propagation techniques

worldwide. This review included sections on (1) natural and induced

spawning, (2) hatchery techniques, and (3) hatchery design.


After fry are collected, they can either be placed directly into nursery

ponds or into adaptation tanks and then into nursery ponds (Hepher and

Praginin 1981) . Recommended stocking density is 30,000 fry/ha, with 200 to

300 carp/ha to limit filamentous algae growth.

Fry remain in the nursery pond from 60 to 100 days 'until 1 to 3 g

(Hepher and Pruginin 1981) . From this size, fry can be transferred to larger

nursery ponds or grow-Out ponds.

Mullet fry are delicate (Hepher and Pruginin 1981) and experience high

mortality in mud y water, especially with water temperature above.30°C.

Movement of fry is best in early morning with lower temperatures.

Hora and Pillay (1962) reported production (without feed) of 900 to

1,100 kq/ha for M. cephalu . With artificial feeds, yields of 1,500 kg/ha

were anticipated.

In freshwater ponds, the growth and survival of M1. ceonalus are higher

than M. capito (Perlmutter et al. 1957). However, M. cephaJ.us fry supplies

Fran estuaries are often inadequate, thus h. capito is also cultured.

Mullet growth rates have been reported at 1.5 g/day, with fish of 2 to

500 g stocked at 1,000 fish/ha (Hepher and Pruginin 1981) . Fish were fed

protein-rich pellets. Hepher and Pruginin (1981) also noted that in mullet

pond culture, a 30 percent expected loss was anticipates in mullet stocks.

M. c ito culture strategy is slightly different than M. cephalus . M.

capito requires one year to reach marketable size (Hepher and Pruginin 1981).


http://M.cephaJ.us

Thus, ri. Ito is often grown into year 2. The two year grow-out strate<

can also follow with j. cgphaJ.us , which denands a high price per kg when

large.

In the two year grow-out strategy, fry are restocked fran the

preliminary nursery to a secondary nursery pond (Pruginin et a1. 1975). M.

rephalus fingerlings are 200 g, while M.caito fingerlings are 20 to 100 g

at this restocking. The secondary nursery pond is stocked at 10,000 to

20,000 fingerling/ha. No feed is a&ied. When carp is present, carp standing

stock reaches 80 kg/ha.

13Pacific Islands Development ProgranEast-West Center

http://j.cgphaJ.us

Mullet has a tendency for rancidity development in its flesh during

storage (Cato and McCullough 1976). This is considered the major problam

causing the low value of mullet (in the United States) .

In Israel, market size of year-1 mullet is 400 g; year-2 mullet is 600 g

(Hepher and Pruginin 1981). According to Wohlfarth (1977), M. cepbalus and

N. capito are the highest Ford-raised fish in Israel, having a market price

of ten twice that of common carp.

Ln the Italian fish market, mullet of 300 to 1,000 g are preferred

(Brown 1977).


Atkinson, C. E. 1977. Chapter 22. People's Republic of China. Pages321-344 in E. E. Brown, ed., World Fish Farming: CultivationEconomics . AVI Publishing Company, Inc., Westport, Conn.

Bardach, J. E., J. H. Ryther, and W. 0. McLarney. 1972. Chapter 16, Cultureof mullets (Mugilidae) . Pages 285-312 in uacu. tore: h F

__ Q_f Freshwater .W Marine Organisms . Wiley Interscience, NewYork.

Brown, E. E. , ed. 1977. WOrld Fyn Farming: Cultivation Econon cs .AVI Publishing Company, Inc., Westport, Connecticut.

Cato, J. C. and W. E. McCullough, eds. 1976. Economics, biology and foodtechnology of mullet. Report No. 15. State University System ofFlorida. Sea Grant Program.

Chaudhuri, H. and S. D. Tripathi. 1979. Problens of warm water seedproduction. Pages 127-134 in T. V. R. Pillay and Si. A. Dill, eds.,Advances I ? acu l tures . FAO.

Chen, H.-H. 1977. Chapter 23 Taiwan. Pages 345-358 in E. E. Brown, ed.World Fish Farming: Cultivation Economics . AVI Publishing Copy,Inc. Westport, Conn.

Cowey, C. B. and J. R. Sargent. 1972. Fish nutrition. Advanced MarineBiology 10: 383-393.

de Silva, S. S. and M. J. S. Wij eyaratne. 1976. Studies on the biology ofyoung grey mullet, Mugi1 cephalus L. FAO Technical Conference onAquaculture. Kyoto, Japan, 26 May to 2 June 1976. Fir:Aq/Conf/76/E.34.

Ellis, J. N. 1967. Artificial diets for mullets. Oceanic Institute,Waima.nal o, Hawaii.

Furukawa, A. 1979. The aquaculture industry in Japan—its present andfuture. Pages 45-50 in T. V. R. Pillay and W. A. Dill, ed., Advances

Aauacultures . FPS.

Hepher, B. and Y. Pruginin. 1981. Commercial Fish Fig. John Wiley andSons, Inc. Toronto, Canada.

Hiatt, R. W. 1944. Food-chains and the food cycle in Hawaiian fish ponds -Part 1. The food and feeding habits of mullet Mugil cephalus) ,milkfish (Chanos chanos) , and the ten-pounder {mapCEJ. p inachnata) .Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 74: 250-261.

Hora, S. L. and T. V. R Pillay. 1962. Handbook on fish culture in theIndo-Pacific fisheries region, FAO. Fish, Tech Paper. 14: 204.

15Pacific Islands Develognent ProgranEast-West Center

Jhingran, V. G. and A. V. Natarajan. 1979. Improvement of fisheriesresources in inland waters through stocking. Pages 532-541 in T. V. R.Pillay and W. A. Dill, e^., Advances j /u culture. FAD.

Kuo, C.-M_, C. E. Nash, and Z. H. Shehadeh. 1974. A procedural guide toinduced spawning in grey mullet (u i1 cephaJ.uz L). Aquaculture 3(1):1-14.

Leray, C. 1971. Experimental approaches to artificial feeding of score seafish. Pages 169-171 in J. L. Gaudet, ed., Report of the 1970 workshopon fish feed technology and nutrition. Resource Bulletin Bur. SportFish. Wi-Idl . 102: 169-171.

Liao, I.-C. 1974. Experiments on induced breeding of the grey mullet inTaiwan from 1963 to 1973. Aquaculture 2 (2) : 1-24.

Nash, C. E., C.-M. Kuo, and S. C. McConnel. 1974. Operational proceduresfor rearing larvae of the grey mullet (Mugil ,^ a1us L.) . k uacufture3 (1) : 15-24.

Nash, C. E. and Z. H. Shehadeh. 1980. Review of breeding and propagationtechniques for grey mullet, Mugil cephaJ.Ls L. IC1ARM Studies andReviews 3.

Odum, W. E. 1970. Utilization of the direct grazing and plant detritus foodchains by the striped mullet Mugil gyp . Pages 222-240 in J. H.Steele, ed., Marine Fob Chains. Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh.

Perlmutter, A., L. Bogard, and J. Pruginin. 1957. Use of the estuarine andsea fish of the family Mugilidae (grey mullets) for pond culture inIsrael. Proc. Gen. Fish. Counc. Mediterr. 4: 289-304.

Pruginin, Y., S. Shilo, and D. Mires. 1975. Grey mullet: A componentpolyculture in Israel. Aquaculture 5: 291-298.

Rabanal, H. R. and Y. C. Shang. 1979. The economics of various ma gementtechniques for pond culture of finfish. Pages 224-235 in T. V. R.Pillay and W. A. Dill, eds., Advances uaculture. FAO.

Shehadeh, Z. H., C.-M. Kuo, and K. K. Milisen. 1973. Induced spawning ofgrey mullet. Mugil cephalus L. with fractionated salmon pituitaryextract. J. Fish Biol. 5: 471-478.

Sinha, V. R. P. 1979. New trends in fish farm management. Pages 123-126 inT. V. R. Pillay and W. A. Dill, ed., Advances Ar uaculture . FAD.

'Thomson, J. M. 1963. Synopsis of biological data on the grey mullet Mugccep us Linnaeus 1758. CSIRC} Fish. Oceanography, Fish. Synop. 1.Melbourne, Australia.

Wohlfarth, G. W. 1977. Chapter 24, Israel. Pages 359-370 in E. E. Brown,ed., World Fish Farina: Cultivation F oncmics . AVI PublishingCo., Inc. Westport, Conn.

16

Pacific Islands Development ProgramEast-West Center

Yashouv, A., and E. Berner-S.ainsonov. 1970. Contribution to the knowledge ofeggs and early larval stages of mullets (Mugilidae) along Israel Coast.Bamidgeh 22(3): 72-89.

Z i snann, L., V. Berdugo, and B. Ki mur . 1975. The food and feeding habits ofearly stages of grey mullet in Haifa Bay Region. lquaculture 6 (1) :59-75.


PACIFIC ISLANDS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

The Pacific Islands Development Program (PIDP) at the East-West Center helpsmeet the special development needs of the Pacific islands region through coopera-tive research, education, and training. P1DP also serves as the Secretariat for thePacific Islands Conference, a heads of government organization involving leadersfrom throughout the Pacific region, and for the Pacific Islands Conference Stand-ing Committee, which was established to ensure follow-up on developmentproblems discussed at the 1980 Conference.

PIDP's research, education, and training activities are developed as a directresponse to requests from the Standing Committee. PIDP's projects are plannedin close cooperation with the Committee to ensure that the focus and the organi-zation of each project address the needs identified by the heads of governmenton the Committee, a process which is unique within the East-West Center and inother research and educational organizations serving the Pacific.

A major objective of the program has been to provide quality in-depth analyticalstudies on specific priority issues as identified by the Pacific island leaders andpeople. The aim is to provide leaders with detailed information and alternativestrategies on policy issues. Each island country will make its own decision basedon national goals and objectives. Since 1980, PIDP has been given the task ofresearch in eight project areas: energy, disaster preparedness, aquaculture, govern-ment and administrative systems, nuclear waste disposal, business venturesdevelopment and management, roles of multinational corporations, and regionalcooperation.

EAST-WEST CENTER

The East-West Center is a public, nonprofit educational institution with an inter-national board of governors. Some 2,000 research fellows, graduate students, andprofessionals in business and government each year work with the Center's inter-national staff in cooperative study, training, and research. They examine majorissues related to population, resources and development, the environment, culture,and communication in Asia, the Pacific, and the United States. The Center wasestablished in 1960 by the United States Congress, which provides principalfunding. Support also comes from more than 20 Asian and Pacific governments,as well as private agencies and corporations.

Situated on 21 acres adjacent to the University of Hawaii's Manoa Campus, theCenter's facilities include a 300-room office building housing research andadministrative offices for an international staff of 250, three residence halls forparticipants, and a conference center with meeting rooms equipped to providesimultaneous translation and a complete range of audiovisual services.

a short review of world mullet culture · 2020. 7. 2. · in taiwan, total mullet production was...

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