861 



Abstract.— The parameters from von 

 Bertalani'fy's growth equation were es- 

 timated for Mugil cephaluti and M. 

 cureina located in Tamiahua coastal 

 lagoon in Veracruz, Mexico. Also differ- 

 ences in growth and longevity between 

 sexes were obtained. The following 

 were growth parameters for M. cep/wlus: 

 L, = 642.4 mm, W.. = 2.352.12 g, /■- = 



0.099, l„ 



-2.85. (Aogg) = 28.3 years; 



and for M. cureina: L„ = 461.4 mm. W^ 

 = 844.73 g, /t = 0.14 y t„ = -3.62, (A^ 95) 

 = 18.7 years. Some important differ- 

 ences among growth rates from other 

 areas were found. Significant differ- 

 ences in the growth rate between sexes 

 were observed. The following were 

 growth parameters forM. cephaliis: fe- 

 males: L, = 622.9 mm, k = 0.107, /„= 

 -2.67; Apj,jj = 26.2 years; males; L, = 



603.9 mm, A = 0.105,/,, 



-2.98; A„ 



26.5 years; for M. ciirema: females; L„ 

 = 454.6 mm, A' = 0. 135. /„ = -3.94; Ag g^ 

 = 19.2 years; males; L^ = 411.8 mm, /j= 

 0. 187. /„ = -3.03; A,, 35 = 14.0 years. 



Growth analysis of striped mullet, 

 Mugil cephalus, and white mullet, 

 M. curema (Pisces: Mugilidae), 

 in the Gulf of Mexico 



Ana L. Ibanez Aguirre 



Universidad Autonoma Melropolitana-lztapalapa 

 Ap Postal 55-535, 09340 Mexico, D.F, 

 E mail address anam'xanum uam mx 



Manuel Gallardo-Cabello 



Institute de Ciencias del Mar y Limnologia. UNAM 

 Ap. Postal 70-305, 04510 Mexico, D.F. 



Xavier Chiappa Carrara 



Unidad de Investigacion en Ecologia Manna, FESZ, UNAM 

 Ap. Postal 9 020, 09230 Mexico, D.F 



Manuscript accepted 16 December 1998. 

 Fish. Bull. 97;861-872 (1999). 



The striped mullet, Mugil cephalus 

 (Linnaeus, 1758), has a worldwide 

 distribution, between 42"N and 

 42°S (de Silva, 1980), whereas the 

 white mullet, Mugil curema (Valen- 

 ciennes, 1836), is basically an 

 American species found from Cape 

 Cod, USA, to Brazil in the Atlantic 

 and from Bahia Magdalena, Mexico, 

 to Chile in the Pacific (Jordan and 

 Everman, 1896). However, Alvarez 

 (1976) has recorded M. curema off 

 the western coast of Africa, 



In Mexico, 99% of the commercial 

 catch of these mullets takes place 

 in the states of Tamaulipas, mainly 

 in Laguna Madre and in Veracruz, 

 and mainly in the Pueblo Viejo and 

 Tamiahua. The mullet fishery con- 

 stitutes one of the ten most impor- 

 tant fisheries in Mexico as a result 

 of its catch volume, which surpasses 

 10,000 metric tons (t) annually 

 (Polancoetal., 1987), 



These species provide both the 

 meat and the roe, locally called 

 "hueva." which commands a gi'eater 

 commei'cial price than the meat. 

 Whereas striped mullet meat has a 

 value of one US$ per kg, the roe is 

 valued at seven US$ per kg. The 

 female gonad has a widespread 



market because it is eaten region- 

 ally as well as nationally and inter- 

 nationally. In 1995 alone, 43 t of roe 

 with a value of US$ 150,000 (at the 

 present time US$ 800,000) were ex- 

 ported to the United States (Polanco 

 etal,, 1987), 



Although these species of mullets 

 represent an important source of 

 food in many countries, studies on 

 their ecology and population dy- 

 namics are insufficient. In Mexico 

 some population parameters of M. 

 ceplialus in Tamiahua lagoon, 

 Veracruz, have been analyzed by 

 Marquez (1974) and Garcia ( 1980). 

 Similarly, Diaz and Hernandez 

 (1980) and Romero and Castro 

 (1983) studied M. cephalus in the 

 San Andres lagoon in Tamaulipas 

 and in the Mar Muerto in Chiapas, 

 respectively. Yanez-Ai'ancibia ( 1976) 

 analyzed some aspects of feeding hab- 

 its, growth, and maturity of M. 

 curema in the coastal lagoon system 

 of Guerrero. Comparative studies 

 on M. curema and M. cephalus in 

 Tamiahua lagoon, Veracruz, were 

 carried out by the following authors: 

 Perez-Garcia and Ibanez-Aguirre 

 (1992) and Ibanez-Aguirre and 

 Lleonart ( 1996) on relative growth 



