Natural growth
Mugil cephalus has a fast growth especially during the two first years. Then the growth tends to slow down when the fish is sexually mature. Von Bertalanffy growth parameters were estimated in the Gulf of Mexico: L∞=642.4 mm, W∞=2352.12 g, k=0.099, t0=-2.85, (A0.95)=28.3 years (Ibañes Aguirre et al., 1999) (Figure 2).
Males mature between year 1 and 2 while females mature between year 2 and 4 (McDonough et al., 2005). Females are bigger and grow marginally faster than males (Figure 3). The growth is also seasonal and can be temporarily stopped during the cold months as observed in temperate areas.
Growth in captivity
In Taiwan, under extensive conditions grey mullet can reach a body weight of 300 to 600 g within a year (Liao and Chao, 1991). In intensive culture systems yields are strongly influenced by the quality of the feed such as the crude protein (CP) content as shown in Figures 4 and 5. A larval growth curve is presented Figure 6. The following table summarizes growth of M. cephalus reared in different culture systems (Gautier and Hussenot, 2005).
