Crespo S ; Grau A ; Padros F ;

Aquaculture International vol. 2 (4)   pp. 262-265, 1994

Lab. Biol., Fac. Vet. U.A.B. Bellaterra. Barcelona, Spain

The amberjack (Seriola dumerili Risso, Carangidae) has been cultured in sea cages in Spanish mariculture facilities since 1980, particularly in the Balearic Islands, Murcia and along the Tarragona coast. Wild juveniles (80-100 g) are caught with nets in September-October and reared in cages, reaching a weight of about 1 kg by the following June. The high growth rate of cultured amberjack and its feeding on fish of low commercial value such as sardines (Sardinella aurita), bogues (Boops boops), picarels (Spicara sp.), and horse mackerels (Trachurus sp.), makes the amberjack a promising species for aquaculture. Except for some outbreaks of ichthyophoniasis (Navarro and Belmonte, 1987), only sporadic mortalities were detected until 1988. However, since then, 80-85% mortalities have been occurring annually, mainly from December to May, in the 0-group age class. The aim of the present work is to report major disease problems in the 0-group amberjack following a light microscope study of samples from diseased fish periodically sent for routine histological examination. A total of 200 specimens from three different sites (Mallorca, Tarragona and Murcia) were examined over a 5 y period (1988-1992). A total of 63 wild-caught amberjack from two different sites (Mallorca, n = 49 and Tarragona, n = 14) were also studied over the time period 1989-1992

Fish culture ;  Intensive culture ;  Fish diseases ;  Gills ;  Histopathology ;  Aquaculture ;  Seriola dumerili ;  MED,Spain,Murcia ;