Broodstock development and seed production of Indian pompano and grouper

The common name or FAO name of Trachinotus mookalee is “Indian pompano”. T. mookalee belongs to the family Carangidae (jacks and pompanos) holds immense potential for the marine finfish aquaculture sector. It is a pelagic species which inhabits shallow coastal waters. Indian pompano is most common in shallow coastal waters in a number of environments, including coral and rocky reefs and shore faces and tidal flats. The species has a wide salinity tolerance, as evident from the ranges from which juvenile and sub-adult fish are caught in Indian waters. The young fish eventually move to inshore reefs as they mature, before again moving to deeper outer reefs. It is distributed in western Indian Ocean from the Gulf of Oman eastward to Sri Lanka. Its range also extends to Singapore, Gulf of Thailand and Hong Kong. In India it has been reported both from the east and west coasts. Indian pompano is reported to grow to a size of 90 cm in total length and 8.1 kg body weight. Under captivity, when grown in offshore cages, Indian pompano grew from 42.8 g to 969.90 g after 9 months of culture