TITLE:
Mugilids (Mugil cepalus, Linnaeus, 1758; Liza ramada, Risso, 1810) Stocking in Lake Kinneret (Israel)
AUTHORS:
Moshe Gophen, Gregory Snovsky
KEYWORDS:
Mugilids, Kinneret, Stocking, Growth, Feeding, Fisheries
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Ecology,
Vol.5 No.8,
August
24,
2015
ABSTRACT: Stocking
of Lake Kinneret by exotic fish species (Mugilids: Mugil cephalus and Liza
ramada) started in 1958. The rational stocking of Lake Kinneret with
Mugilids was double functioned: To improve fishermen income and the water
quality in the lake. Mugilids are chosen as introduction target because their
market value is high, the fish cannot reproduce in the lake and fingerlings are
low cost available. During 1960-2015, 56.2 million fingerlings were introduced
into the lake approximately averaged one million per year of M. cephalus (MC) and L. ramada (LR). The study of the Mugilids food composition has
indicated consumption of suspensoids, mostly detritial organic particles.
Therefore no damage to water quality is suggested. The best fitness between
recruitment to Dock on Side landings and stocking capacity was evaluated at 3
years interval. Differences were found between recruitments of MC and LR to
commercial catches by individual averaged age and weight. The long term success
of Mugilid introduction to Lake Kinneret is confirmed.