Notes on first attempt at artificial spawning and rearing of early stages with goldblotch grouper, Epinephelus costae (Steindachner, 1875)

The goldblotch grouper, Epinephelus costae, previously known as Epinephelus alexandrinus, is a commercially important fish species in the Mediterranean, with a good market demand and price (17 USD/kg in Greece). As is the case with many other grouper species throughout the world, goldblotch grouper is considered a possible fish for introduction into Mediterranean aquaculture. In this paper we present the first results of spawning and rearing trials of the early larval stages of goldblotch grouper. The broodstock consisted of ten females (weight from 4.5-6 kg) raised from wild fingerlings and five sex-reversed smaller males (from 150-450 g) obtained as described previously (Glamuzina et al., 1998a). The fish were held in concrete tanks with added stones, supplied with seawater at an ambient temperature of u13-25 degree C and salinity of 38ppt). They were fed three times per week with frozen sardines.