Broodstock development of groupers

Abstract

The major constraint in grouper farming is the shortage and irregular availability of fingerlings trom the wild at the right time. For a regular supply of sufficient quantity of hatchery-produced seeds, healthy broodstock is highly essential. Many of the culturable species of groupers arc protogynous hermaphrodites. They mature initially as females and latcr become males; in nature this transfonnation would take a very long time. Broodstock can either be caught from the wild or can be developed by rearing fingerlings in captivity.