Hogfish (Lachnolaimus maximus ) are a valuable sport and food fish. Hogfish are commonly targeted by recreational spear fishermen, but also can be caught on hook and line . Recreational and commercial harvest of hogfish in the United States is most common in Florida. From 2000 to 2015, the average number of hogfish landed annually in Florida by recreational fishermen was about 145,000 fish with commercial landings averaging around 45,000 pounds. Given the dearth of information on hogfish aquaculture , we are currently in the process of evaluating methodologies to achieve two main objectives: (1 .) develop and spawn broodfish and (2 .) define efficient egg incubation and larval culture protocols.
In 2019, the University of Florida's Indian River Research and Education Center Aquaculture Lab began collecting wild broodstock and acclimatizing them to captivity. Recreational charter captains and ornamental fish collectors that target hogfish were use d to acquire broodstock for this research. Once fish were brought to the Aquaculture facility in Fort Pierce, Florida, growth rates of three groups of (>30.5 cm) were recorded monthly. These groups were observed four times daily for behavior changes, harem formation behavior, and sex change behavior. Changes in sexual dimorphism and harem formation behavior were observed and were recorded daily. These behaviors included jaw locking, color change, aggression between assumed males , and mating displays .
Repeated volitional spawning occurr ed starting in December 2019. D ata will be presented on hatch rates, survival to first feeding , optimum feeding protocol and water qualit y. Additionally, a dult hogfish were subjected to anesthesia trials evaluating the effectiveness of Tricaine-S and Aqui-S 20E (INAD #11-741) on various fish sizes .