Striped mullet 



Mugil cephalus 

 Adult 



10 cm 



(from Goode 1884) 



Common Name: striped mullet 

 Scientific Name: Mugil cephalus 

 Other Common Names: common mullet, black mul- 

 let, Biloxi bacon, liza, gray mullet, muletcabot (French), 

 lisa pardete (Spanish) (Broadhead 1 953, Breuer 1 957, 

 Christmas and Waller 1 973, Kuo et al. 1 973, Finucane 

 et al. 1978, Fischer 1978, NOAA 1985). 



Classification (Robins et al. 1991) 

 Phylum: Chordata 

 Class: Osteichthyes 

 Order: Perciformes 

 Family: Mugilidae 



Value 



Commercial : Mullet comprise one of the most impor- 

 tant fisheries of the southern United States with com- 

 bined 1993 Gulf of Mexico landings for black and 

 striped mullet totaling over 14,319 mt and selling for an 

 average of $0.41 per pound (Anderson 1 958, Lee et al. 

 1980, Newlin 1993, O'Bannon 1994). Commercial 

 fishing for mullet takes place mainly from September to 

 December (NOAA 1985), and Gulf coast landings 

 contributed 84% of the total U.S. catch in 1 992 (Newlin 

 1 993). Florida contributes the greatest amount to Gulf 

 of Mexico mullet production (5, 1 04 mt), and this comes 

 primarily from the west central coast of the state (Killam 

 et al. 1992, Newlin 1993). This production amount is 

 followed by Louisiana (2,733 mt), Alabama (580 mt), 

 Mississippi (215 mt), and Texas (1 6 mt). Striped mullet 

 is considered an important food fish, and is usually 

 marketed locally. It is also taken for its roe, which is 

 prized as a delicacy and exported to Asian markets 

 (Render et al. 1995). Mullet are most frequently 

 marketed as fresh or salted (Fischer 1978, Shipp 

 1986). This is also considered a prime species for 



mariculture (Broadhead 1953, Christmas and Waller 

 1 973, Bishop and Miglarese 1 978). Despite this good 

 reputation as a food fish, striped mullet is commonly 

 considered oily and poor tasting west of the Mississippi 

 (although one researcher reports it as being quite 

 palatable) and is primarily used only as bait (Kilby 

 1 949, Reid 1 955, Arnold et al. 1 960). Recent efforts to 

 enhance the image of both mullet and mullet roe as an 

 export product have met with considerable success, 

 thus its commercial importance may increase further in 

 the future (Shipp 1986, Killam et al. 1992). Mullet are 

 caught by gill nets, trammel nets, stop nets, haul 

 seines, yard seines, hook and line, and cast nets 

 (Broadhead 1 953, Broadhead and Mefford 1 956, Ander- 

 son 1958, Fischer 1978). The gill nets and trammel 

 nets are the most effective means of capture, with haul 

 and yard seine second in choice. Hook and line, and 

 cast net catches are incidental. The rising popularity of 

 mullet flesh and roe as food items, and the use of more 

 efficient fishing gear and methods have led to increas- 

 ing harvest regulation by the Gulf coast states. In order 

 to manage the Gulf of Mexico fishery, the Gulf States 

 Marine Fisheries Commission has developed a fishery 

 management plan (FMP) for this species (Leard et al. 

 1995). 



Recreational : Striped mullet is valued as a bait fish by 

 sport fishermen, and is also indirectly important as a 

 forage species for game fishes (Kilby 1949, Arnold et 

 al.1960). Fishery information forthe recreational catch 

 in the Gulf of Mexico showed a total of over 1 .6 million 

 mullet caught in 1992 (O'Bannon 1993). Sport fisher- 

 men take striped mullet with the same gear that com- 

 mercial fishermen use (Manooch 1984, Collins 1985). 

 The importance of mullet as a recreational species may 

 be underestimated. When recently compared to a 



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