LAUSR

The white mullet Mugil curema is broadly distributed in America inhabiting coastal and estuarine systems. It is an economically important fishery resource in several regions of the Mexican Pacific. The goal of this research was the description of several reproductive aspects of Mugil curema during an annual cycle. Fish were sampled monthly with gill and cast nets from February 2011 to January 2012 in the coastal lagoon Barra de Navidad, Jalisco, Mexico. A total of 495 fish were analyzed. Total length and weight were measured for each specimen and gonads were collected, weighted, classified after their maturation stage and preserved for histological analyses. Caught fish were between 10.3 and 38.5 cm total length with a mean of 26.1 cm. A total of 375 individuals were classified as females with a mean total length of 27.2 cm while 110 fish were classified as males with a mean total length of 23.4 cm. Females dominated by numbers in the total sample, monthly and by length classes. Highest values of the gonadosomatic index occurred in April, August and November. Condition factor showed high values in several months and its trend along the year was similar in both sexes. Six stages were identified during the oogenesis and, due to the high quantity of primary growth and secondary vitellogenic and tertiary vitellogenic oocytes, the developing pattern was group-synchronous with total spawning. Length at maturity (L 50 ) was 21.7 cm for males and 24.5 for females. Comparing these values with length composition of commercial catches, more than 50% of caught fish have reproduced at least once.