Researchers from ECOAQUA Aquaculture Research Group of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria achieved the first natural and viable spawning of golden grey mullet (Liza aurata).
The team has been working on this species for five years addressing reproductive aspects and the development of sustainable feed with local byproducts as ingredients. After three years of broodstock acclimation, researchers achieved nine natural and viable spawnings in 2021 at the ECOAQUA facilities.
“Larvae show great resistance, rapid growth and high survival under standard culture conditions,” said Lidia Esther Robaina, researcher at ECOAQUA. The team is working with the International Marine Center of Sardinia and the National Center for Mariculture of Eilat, Israel to develop culture techniques for this species.
Part of the larvae obtained will serve to improve and optimize the stock of the species, while the rest are being used for ontogenic analysis and management and nutrition trials.
There is a renewed interest in different countries to increase the production of mullets. They are euryhaline which makes them ideal for traditional farming systems, such as on land and marine cages, but also multi-species and aquaponics systems.
The major constraints for mullet production are the breeding process to produce juveniles, currently being mainly supplied by fisheries, and low-cost, sustainable diets for omnivorous marine species.