REFERENCE COPY 

Do - - Not Remove from the Librarv 

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

hl&onl Wrtlnnds Research Center 

Biological Report 82(11.39) . 700 Cajun Dome Boulevard 

May, 1985 

TR EL-82.4 

Lafayette, Louisiana 70536 

Species Profiles: Life Histories and 

Environmental Requirements of Coastal Fishes 

and Invertebrates (South Florida) 

WHITE MULLET 

Coastal Ecology Group 

Fish and Wildlife Service Waterways Experiment Station 

U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 
This is one of the first reports to be publ ished in the new "Biological 

Report" series. This technical report series, publ i shed by the Research 

and Development branch of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, replaces 

the "FWS/OBS1' series publ i shed from 1976 to September 1984. The Biol ogical Report series is designed for the rapid publication of reports with 

an application orientation, and it continues the focus of the FWS/OBS 

series on resource management issues and fish and wi ldl i fe needs. 
Biological Report 82 (11.39) 

TR EL-82-4 

May 1985 

Species Profiles: Life Histories and Environmental Requirements 

of Coastal Fishes and Invertebrates (South Florida) 

WHITE MULLET 

Mark R. Collins 

Department of Zoology 

University of Florida 

Gainesville, FL 32611 

Project Manager 

Larry Shanks 

Project Officer 

John Parsons 

National Coastal Ecosystems Team 

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

1010 Gause Boulevard 

Slidell, LA 70458 

Performed for 

Coastal Ecology Group 

Waterways Experiment Station 

U. S. Army Corps of Engineers 

Vicksburg, MS 39180 

and 

National Coastal Ecosystems Team 

Division of Biological Services 

Research and Development 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

U.S. Department of the Interior 

Washington, DC 20240 
This series should be referenced as follows 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1983-19-. Species profiles: life histories 

and envi ronmental requirements of coastal fishes and invertebrates. U. S. Fish 

Wildl. Serv. Biol. Rep. 82(11). U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, TR EL-82-4. 

This profile should be cited as follows: 

Collins, M. R. 1985. Species profiles: life histories and environmental 

requirements of coastal fishes and invertebrates (South Florida) -- white 

mullet. U.S. Fish Wildl. Ser. Biol. Rep. 82(11.39). U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers, TR EL-82-4. 7 pp. 
PREFACE 

This species profile is one of a series on coastal aquatic organisms, 

principally fish, of sport, commerci a1 , or ecological importance. The profil es 

are designed to provide coastal managers, engineers, and biologists with a brief 

comprehensive sketch of the biological characteristics and environmental requirements of the species and to describe how populations of the species may be 

expected to react to environmental changes caused by coastal devel opment. Each 

profile has sections on taxonany, 1 i fe history, ecological role, envi ronmental 

requirements, and economic importance, if appl icabl e. A three-ring binder is 

used for this series so that new profiles can be added as they are prepared. This 

project is jointly planned and financed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and 

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

Suggestions or questions regarding this report should be directed to one 

of the foll owing addresses. 

Information Transfer Special ist 

National Coastal Ecosys tems Team 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

NASA-Sl idel 1 Compu ter Compl ex 

1010 Gause Boulevard 

Sl idel 1 , LA 70458 

U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station 

Attention: WESER-C 

Post Office Box 631 

Vicksburg, MS 39180 

iii 
CONVERSION TABLE 

Metric to U.S. Customary 

Mu1 tiply & To Obtain 

mi 11 imeters (m) 

centimeters ( an) 

meters (m) 

ki 1 meters ( km) 

2 

square meters (m ) 10.76 

square ki 1 meters ( km2) 0.3861 

hectares (ha) 2.471 

inches 

inches 

feet 

mil es 

square feet 

square miles 

acres 

1 i ters ( 1 ) 0.2642 gal 1 ons 

cubic meters (m3) 35.31 cubic feet 

cubic meters 0.0008110 acre- feet 

mil 1 igrams (mg) 0.00003527 ounces 

grams (!I) 0.03527 ounces 

kilograms (k ) 2.205 pounds 

metric tons ft) 2205.0 pound s 

metric tons 1.102 short tons 

ki 1 ocal ories ( kcal ) 3.968 British thermal units 

Cel sius degrees 1.8("C) + 32 Fahrenhei t degrees 

U.S. Customary to Metric 

inches 

inches 

feet ( f t) 

fa thorns 

miles (mi) 

nautical miles (mi) 

square feet (ft2) 

acres 2 

square miles (mi ) 

gallons (gal) 3.785 

cubic feet (ft3) 0.02831 

acre- feet 1233.0 

ounces (oz) 28.35 

pounds (lb) 0.4536 

short tons (ton) 0.9072 

British thermal units (Btu) 0.2520 

Fahrenheit degrees 0.5556("F - 32) 

mil 1 imeters 

centimeters 

meters 

meters 

ki 1 ometers 

ki 1 meters 

square meters 

hectares 

square ki 1 ometers 

1 i ters 

cubic meters 

cubic meters 

grams 

ki 1 og rams 

metric tons 

ki 1 ocal ori es 

Celsius degrees 
CONTENTS 

Page 

PREFACE ............................................................. iii 

CONVERSION TABLE .................................................... i v 

NOMENCLATURE/TAXONOMY/RANGE ......................................... 1 

MORPHOLOGY/IDENTIFICATION AIDS ...................................... 1 

REASON FOR INCLUSION IN SERIES ...................................... 1 

LIFE HISTORY ......................................................... 1 

Spawning .......................................................... 1 

Larvae and Juveniles .............................................. 3 

Adults ............................................................ 3 

GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS .............................................. 4 

THE FISHERY ......................................................... 5 

ECOLOGICAL ROLE ..................................................... 5 

ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS .......................................... 6 

Temperature ....................................................... 6 

Salinity .......................................................... 6 

LITERATURE CITED .................................................... 7 
Figure 1 . White mu1 1 et. 

WHITE MULLET 

Scientific name ..... Mugil curema 

Valenciennes, 1836 

Preferred common name . . White mullet 

(Figure 1) 

Other common names ... Silver mu1 let 

Class .......... Osteichthyes 

Order .......... Perciformes 

Family ........... Mugilidae 

The white mullet and striped 

mullet are easily separated taxonomically. The white mullet has 9 anal 

rays and the pectoral fin lengths are 

77%-84% of the head lengths; the 

striped mu1 let has 8 anal rays and the 

pectoral fins are 66%-74% of the head 

1 ength. 

REASON FOR INCLUSION IN SERIES 

Geographic range: Atlantic and East- The white mu1 let, the second most 

ern Pacific; in the Western Atlantic comnon species of the family Mugilidae 

from Canada to Uruguay; adults rare in Florida waters, constitutes a meanorth of Florida (Figure 2). surable proportion of the comnercial 

MORPHOLOGY/IDENTIFICATION AIDS 

Dorsal fin IV + I spines, 8 rays; 

anal fin I11 spines, 9 rays (11, 10 in 

juveniles). Lateral 1 ine scale count 

33-39 (usually 38-39). Anal and second dorsal fins scaled; origin of 

first dorsal fin midway between middle 

of caudal base and tip of snout; caudal fin often has dark posterior 

border; sides of body silvery without 

conspicuous stripes ; back bl ue or 

01 ive; gold spot on opercle usually 

apparent; adipose eye1 id present 

(Hoese and Moore 1977; Rivas 1980). 

mu1 let catch, and is a popular baitfish in the sport fishery for billfish. Because white mullet feed primarily on living and dead vegetable 

matter, as do the more numerous 

striped mu1 1 et (Mygi 1 cephal us), they 

are ecoloqical lv im~ortant as ~rimarv 

consumers - in "the ' food chains of 

coastal and estuarine waters. 

LIFE HISTORY 

Spawni ng_ 

In 1954, a school of thousands of 

spawning white mullet was observed 
T. PETERSBURG 

MILES 

Coaeral dl8trlUutlon 

KILOMETERS 

FLORIDA 

Figure 2. Distribution of white mullet in the South Florida Region. 
at night on the surface in about 60 m 

of water off south Florida (Anderson 

1957). Eggs and early larvae were 

collected near the surface from that 

depth out to the axis of the Gulf 

Stream and northward to North 

Carolina. Eggs have been collected in 

Bi scayne Bay (Houde et a1 . 1976). On 

the basis of the distribution of larvae, Anderson ( 1957 ) concl uded that 

white mu1 1 et in Fl ori da spawn pri mari - 

ly from April through June (extremes, 

March through September). Based on 

gonad devel opment, Mef ford (1955 ) 

assumed that white mu1 let spawn from 

April through June. In the Gulf of 

Mexico off Texas, Moore (1974) collected white mullet with gonads in 

post-spawning condition in 1 ate spring 

and early fa1 1 , but not in the summer, 

and suggested the possibility of an 

interrupted spawning season or two 

popul ati ons that spawn at di fferent 

times. Two spawning seasons, summer 

and winter, were reported for Cuban 

waters (A1 varez-Lajonchere 1976 1. 

Unferti 1 i zed white mu1 1 et eggs 

average 0.82 mn in diameter. The shell 

has a finely etched or scratched appearance, the yo1 k is an opaque mass 

with 1 ittle or no perivitell ine space, 

and there is a pale ye1 low oil globule 

averaging 0.03 mn in diameter atop the 

yo1 k mass. Soon after ferti 1 i zati on 

the egg increases to an average diameter of 0.90 mn. Dimensions of the 

egg and oil globule are relatively 

constant until the egg hatches 40-42 h 

after ferti 1 i zati on (Anderson 1957). 

Alvarez-Lajonchere (1976) presented 

the following fecundity equation for 

Cuban white mullet, where F = number 

of eggs and W = weight in grams: F = 959.54439W-102947.552. 

Larvae and J uveni 1 es ------ 

Newly hatched larvae lack a 

mouth, fins, and eye pigment. About 

32 h after hatching, when the larvae 

are about 2.6 mm long (all lengths are 

total lengths [TL] unless otherwise 

indicated), the pectoral fin buds 

begin to appear and the mouth forms. 

Full complements of fin rays in anal 

and both dorsal fins characterize larvae 5.3 mm long, and the two spines 

and ten rays are discernible in the 

anal fin of larvae about 14.5 mm long. 

Larvae retain the "11, 10" anal fin 

until about 30-40 mm long, when they 

may be considered juveniles; the "111, 

9" anal fin is thereafter retained 

through maturity (Anderson 1957 ). 

Laboratory-reared fish were 36 mn long 

36 days after hatching (Houde et al. 

1976 1. Larvae begin appearing inshore 

along beaches and in estuaries when 

about 25 mn long and 28 days old 

(Anderson 1957 1. By the end of their 

first year, juveniles probably reach a 

length of 200 mn standard 1 ength (SL) , and become sexually mature. Young 

white mu1 let carried north by the Gulf 

Stream have been reported as far north 

as Canada (A1 varez-Lajonchere 1976 1. 

Juveniles enter the estuaries and 

live in the inner marshes for the 

summer of their first year; they 

emigrate seaward when water temperatures begin dropping in the fall. 

Young mu1 let along the Atlantic coast 

migrate southward to Florida or further in the fall. Juveniles become 

scarce along the coast of Texas after 

October (Moore 1974) and along 

Georgia' s coast after mid-December 

(Anderson 1957 ) . Imni grants from 

Georgia probably migrate to inshore 

waters of Florida, and the Texas mullet probably migrate to Mexican waters, where they reside until the 

fol 1 owing spri ng . 

Adults 

After thei r fi rst year, white 

mullet are rarely collected north of 

Florida (Anderson 1957 ) . Ma1 es taken 

from a school of spawning fish off 

the south Florida coast averaged 

189 mm SL; females averaged 209 mm 

SL (Anderson 1957). A positive 

correlation between length and the 

percentage of mu1 let that are mature 

is illustrated in Figure 3. The 

average 1 ength of white mu1 let 
I 205 225 25 265 2 305 

FORK LENGTH (mm) 

Figure 3. The cumulative percent of 

mature white mullet for each length 

group (Mefford 1955). 

caught by commercial fishermen in 

Florida was about 250 m SL, and the 

maximum was about 350 mn SL (Mefford 

1955). Males in Cuban waters greatly 

outnumber females at 1 engths shorter 

than 31 cm FL. There were no sexual 

di f ferences in the length-wei ght re1 ationship (Alvarez-Lajonchere 1976). 

In Florida, Mefford (1955) reported a 

sex ratio of about 1:l. It is likely 

that white mullet along the gulf and 

Atlantic coasts are separate populations (Rivas 1980 ). 

GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS 

Usi ng 1 arvae and juveni 1 es col1 ected in Georgia by sei ni ng, Anderson 

(1957) estimated a growth rate of 

about 17 mn per month. Richards and 

Castagna ( 1976 1, using si mi 1 ar materi - 

a1 from Virginia, estimated the growth 

rates to be 17.5-19.5 rrm for each 

half-month of the summer, or more than 

doubl e Anderson' s val ue. The growth 

rate of 17 mn per month over 1 year 

appears to correspond well to the size 

at that age, but it is also possible 

for a higher summer growth rate and a 

much slower winter growth rate to 

result in the same size at 1 year. 

Using 1 ength-weight data from Mefford 

(1955) and assuming a length of 200 

mrn at age I, Richards and Castagna 

( 1976 ) devel oped the fol 1 owing growth 

equations: 

where Lt = fork length in mn, t = time 

in years, and Wt = weight in grams. 

For each of the first 5 years, the 

first equation yields fork lengths of 

203, 288, 327, 345, and 353 mm, and 

the second yields weights of 98, 303, 

454, 537, and 578 g. AlvarezLajonchere (1976), attempting to age 

white mullet by dorsal spine 

sections, estimated the fol lowing 

fork lengths for Cuban mullet at ages 

one through four, respectively: 232, 

285, 333, and 364 mm. He also 

reported a length-weight equation of 

W = 0.0330 L2*738. The length-weight 

relationship of white mullet in 

Florida is illustrated in Figure 4. 

FORK LENGTH (mm) 

145 225 305 

1.60 -4- 0 

2.16 2.32 218 

LOG,, FORK LENGTH 

Figure 4. Length-weight relationships 

for white mullet in Florida. A = absolute values, B = loglo values 

(from Mefford 1955). 
THE FISHERY 

White mu1 let are not highly 

prized as food, but they are valuable 

as bait in the billfish sport fishery. 

Most fishermen in charter boats 

purchase mu1 let for bait, but some use 

castnets to catch their own. 

In Florida, most of the commercial white mullet are taken by the 

striped mu1 let fishery. In years when 

the white mu1 1 et are unusual ly abundant, the catch is sorted by species; 

but apparently some fishermen and 

retailers do not always separate the 

two species at the market. The data 

for white mullet landings from 1958 to 

1981 are given in Table 1. 

The gears used most often to 

catch white mu1 1 et and striped mu1 let 

are trammel nets, gill nets, and 

seines. See the Species Profile for 

striped mullet (Mu i1 cephalus) for a 

brief descritio on 41~ o theseets and 

their use. There are no regulations 

or closed seasons on white mbll et. 

ECOLOGICAL ROLE 

Data on the food and feeding 

habits of white mu1 let are scarce. 

White and striped mu1 let often feed on 

the same food at the same times and 

places. Larval white and striped 

mullet feed and thrive on microcrustaceans. Houde et al. (1976) reported 

that a culture of white mullet larvae 

thrived on copepod nauplii and 

copepodi tes. As 1 arvae grow, their 

ingestion of bottom sediments, 

detritus , and algae increases. Juveniles do not usually feed on microcrustaceans but juveniles (35-80 mm 

lonq TL) of both species may feed on 

di noflagel 1 ates such as ~r~~to~eridi n- 

- ium sp. (Odum 1968); 1 i ke adults, they 

rely on trituration in their nizzardlike, pyloric stomachs to break down 

food particles. The stomach contents 

of both juvenile and adult white and 

striped mullet in Texas were very 

similar, both in the items present 

(sediment particles, detritus, 

Table 1. Annual landings (pounds) of 

white mullet in Florida, 1958-81. 

(1958-76 data from Florida Dep. of 

Natural Resources; 1977-81 data from 

National Marine Fishery Service.) 

Coast 

-- 

Year East West Combined 

- 

1,138,328 

817,025 

601,964 

655,586 

540,241 

724,485 

586,798 

893,130 

862,129 

1,306,877 

1,334,233 

1,018,763 

823,352 

866,196 

600,658 

806,436 

1,185,964 

843,730 

1,042,780 

diatoms, green a1 gae, and bl ue-green 

algae) and in the proportions of each 

item (Moore 1974). 

Information on predation and 

competition that speci fi cal ly concerns 

white mullet is scarce, but in one 

instance Richards and Castagna (1 976 

reported col 1 ecti ng juveni 1 es with 

injuries probably sustained during 

attacks by predators such as weakfish 

(Cynoscion re alis), bl uefi sh 

(~t~ salt~h andred drum 

In Florida, 

of adults are piscivorous fish and birds. No evidence for 

interspecific competition exists. 
ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS Sal i ni ty 

Temperature 

White mullet have been col lected 

at water temperatures of 19 to 36'~ in 

Texas (Moore 1974), 20.1 to 31 .~OC in 

Vi rgi ni a (Richards and Castagna 1976), 

and 19.5 to 35.4Oc in Florida (Kilby 

1955). The species is tropically 

adapted (Moore 1974 1, and experimental 

evidence suggests a high (28'~ or 

somewhat greater) optimum tem erature 

for white mullet (Moore 1973 P . The 

decreasing water temperatures in 1 ate 

fall may induce juveniles to emigrate 

from estuaries north of Florida, but 

changes in photoperiod have not been 

ruled out as important stimuli 

(Anderson 1957 ) . 

On the peninsular gulf coast of 

Florida, Ki lby (1955) reported catching juvenile white mullet in salinities ranging from 4 to 25 ppt. In a 

study in Texas, white mullet adults 

were abundant only in salinities of 25 

to 36 ppt (Moore 1974). Few enter 

brackish waters in the northern Gulf 

of Mexico. However, I have collected 

adult white mu1 let from freshwater in 

Crystal River, Florida (unpubl . data). 

Relevant data on the effects of 

dissolved oxygen, substrate, depth, 

currents, di seases, and parasites on 

white mullet are sorely lacking. 
LITERATURE CITED 

Alvarez-Lajonchere, L. 1976. Contri - 

bucion a1 estudio del ciclo de 

vida de Mugil curema Valenciennes 

in Cuvier et Valenciennes, 1836 

Fisces: Mugilidae). Cienc. Ser. 

Ocho Invest. Mar. (Havana). No. 

28. 130 pp. 

Anderson, W. W. 1957. Early development, spawning, growth, and occurrence of the silver mullet (Mugil 

-- curema) along the south Atlantic 

coast of the United States. U. S. 

Fish Wildl. Serv. Fish. Bull. No. 

57: 397-414. 

Hoese, H. D., and R. H. Moore. 

1977. Fishes of the Gulf of 

Mexico -- Texas, Louisiana, and 

adjacent waters. Texas A&M University Press, College Station. 

327 pp. 

Houde, E. D., S. A. Berkeley, J. J. 

Klinovsky, and R. C. Schekter. 

1976. Culture of larvae of the 

white mullet MI curema). 

Aquaculture 8: 365- 

Kilby, J. 1955. The fishes of two 

gulf coastal marsh areas of 

Florida. Tulane Stud. Zool. 2: 

175-247. 

Mefford, H. P. 1955. The silver 

mullet fishery in south Florida. 

Univ. Miami Fla. Marine Lab. Res. 

Rep. 55(34): 1-15. 

Moore, R. H. 1973. Energetic responses of striped and white mullet to temperature. Am. Zool . 13: 

1331. (Abstr. ) 

Moore, R. H. 1974. General ecology, 

distribution, and re1 ative abundance of Mugil cephalus and Mugil 

curema on the south Texas coast. 

EiXiTb. Mar. Sci. 18: 241-255. 

Odum, W. E. 1968. Mullet grazing on 

a di nofl age1 1 ate bl oom. 

Chesapeake Sci. 9: 202-204. 

Richards, C. E., and M. Castagna. 

1976. Distribution, growth, and 

predation of white mullet (Mu il 

curema) in oceanside waters o 

Virginia's eastern 

9-r 

shore. 

Chesapeake Sci. 17: 308-309. 

Rivas, L. R. 1980. Synopsis of know1 edge on the taxonomy, bi 01 ogy , distribution, and fishery of the 

Gulf of Mexico mu1 lets (Pisces: 

Mugilidae). Pages 34-53 - in M. 

Flandorfer and L. Skupien, eds. 

Proceedings of a workshop for 

potential fishery resources of the 

northern Gul f of Mexico. 

Miss.-Ala. Sea Grant Consort. 

Pub1 . MASGP-80-012. 
50272 -101 

REPORT DOCUMENTATION '. REP0RT No, 3. Rectplent's Accessnon NO 

PAGE -- -- 

4. Tntle and Subtitle 5. Report Date 

Speci es Prof i 1 es : Li fe Hi stories and Envi ronmental Requirements of Coastal Fishes and Invertebrates (South Florida) -- 

_hlhiteM~rllet. - - - - - - - - 

7. Author(s) 

- Mark R. Collins -- - -- - -. 

9. Performing Organlzatlon Name and Address 

Florida Cooperative Fish and Wil dl i fe Research Unit 

117 Newi ns-Zeigler Hall 

University of Florida 

Gainesville, FL 32611 

- - - 

12. SPonSor!n Or annzat8on Name and Address 

~ationa? Coastal Ecosystems Team U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

Fish and Wildlife Service Waterways Experiment Station 

U.S. Dept. of the Interior P.O. Box 631 

Washington, DC 20240 Vicksburg, MS 39180 

May 1985 - 

6. 

- -- 

8. Performong Organizatoon Rept. No. 

- 

10. ProlectlTasklWork Unit No. 

- - - - - - - - - 

11. Contract(C) or Grant(G) No. 

(C) 

('2) 

- - - - - - 

13. Type of Report 6. Pernod Covered I 

rl. Supplementary Notes 

I 

I *U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Report No. TR EL-82-4. I 16. Abstract (Limnt: 200 words1 

Species profiles are 1 i terature summaries of the taxonomy, morphology, distribution, life 

history, biological and physical environments, and environmental requirements of coastal 

species of fishes and aquatic invertebrates. They are designed to assist in environmental impact assessment. The white mullet (Mugil curema) is a valuable baitfish. 

Adults spawn offshore, and are seldom found at low salinities. Juveniles spend the 

summer of their first year in estuaries. White mullet are caught with trammel nets, gill 

nets, and seines. About 660,000 pounds were landed in 1981. The species is adapted to 

tropical temperatures, with an optimum of about 28 "C. 

- 

17. Document Analysns a. Oescrlptorg 

Fishes Feeding 

Estuaries Grow 

\Jh{fetif$iejT&yEnded Terms Life hi story I Mugil curema Spawni ng 

Sal i ni ty requirements Habitat requirements 

Temperature requi rements 

Unl imi ted I 19. Securnty Class (Thhs Rep rt) 

I ~nclassifiea I - I 20. Securmty Class Rhnr Page 1 22. ~rlce 

~nclassi fied 

(See ANSI-239.18) OPTIONAL FORM 272 (4-77) 

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