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Casey A Murray, Nathan B Evans, Cortney L Ohs, Joshua T Patterson, Angela B Collins, Matthew A DiMaggio, Developing larval nutrition protocols for Hogfish, a new candidate for marine finfish aquaculture, North American Journal of Aquaculture, 2025;, vraf003, https://doi.org/10.1093/naaqua/vraf003
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ABSTRACT
Hogfish Lachnolaimus maximus are large wrasses native to the western Atlantic Ocean, including the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. These fish are a popular recreational and commercial spearfishing target in Florida and fishing pressure has led to population declines over the past several decades. The development of aquaculture protocols for Hogfish would allow for commercial production to meet market demands while simultaneously creating opportunities for stock enhancement and wild population management.
First, the larval development and ontogeny of the digestive tract was examined during a 45-d trial. Digestive enzyme activities were analyzed using standard microplate spectrometric assays, and changes in digestive tract morphology were examined via histology. Two subsequent weaning trials were conducted to determine the appropriate types of feeds and timing of feed introduction during the larval period.
Digestive tract maturation occurred by 24 d posthatch, indicated by rapid increases of trypsin and lipase and increased intestinal coiling and folding. Subsequent weaning trials determined that enriched rotifers should be offered to Hogfish larvae from 3 to 24 d posthatch, after which a microdiet can be introduced.
This study represents the first to investigate larval nutritional protocols for Hogfish, and results indicate that this species has a relatively brief larval period and is not dependent on copepod nauplii like many other pelagically spawning reef fish species. These results suggest that Hogfish are a promising candidate species for marine finfish aquaculture.
Lay Summary
Hogfish were successfully cultured using mainly enriched rotifers and inert microdiet with a relatively high survival rate (25–35%) for a marine finfish species new to aquaculture.
