Biology of young grey mullet, Mugil cephalus L., populatioins in a coastal lagoon in Sri Lanka

The biology of young grey mullet, Mugil cephalus L. populations of a coastal lagoon—the Negombo Lagoon on the West Coast of Sri Lanka was studied from October 1976 to March 1978. The relative abundance of fry were found to vary from month to month, with peaks occurring in December-January, May and September-October, coinciding with the end of rainy seasons. It was found that the young fry tended to migrate into the lagoon at a size of about 10–20 mm, most frequently between 15–20 mm in length, by which time they were fully scaled. The young fry after a period of growth in the shallow areas of the lagoon, when they reached a size of 30–35 mm, emigrated into the deeper waters of the lagoon. The rate of growth, as computed from length frequency distribution studies, was found to be around 0.24 mm day−1. Results of diurnal surveys showed a movement of the larger size fry into shallower waters during the hours of darkness and this movement appears to be independent of the tidal cycle. It is postulated that the cause of this migration is to escape from predators, chiefly piscine. Investigations of the meristic characters indicated that the young fry which migrated into the lagoon at different times of the year probably originated from a single spawning stock.