International Biological Programme: Co-ordinated studies on grey mullets

Abstract

The International Biological Programme/Marine Productivity Section (IBP/PM) initiated cooperation in world-wide studies on the grey mullet; grey mulltests are of great economic importance in many places in the world, but mainly in the tropical and subtropical regions. The aim of IBP/PM is the intensification of studies and the use of lagoons and estuaries for fish production. The importance of the mullet lies also in the fact that it is a detritus feeder, a fast growing fish, and can be successfully bred under artificial conditions. To make cultivation of these fish economical and independent of natural supply (which is becoming ever more unreliable through pollution of laggons and coastal waters), the life cycle of these fish has to be completed and the problem of induced spawning solved. Such investigations are underway in several laboratories in the World. Dissemination of the knowledge acquired, accumulation of experience on this subject, and eventual use of the results as models for induced spawning and cultivation of other species of fish and invertebrates, is another aim of IBP/PM.