Atlantic Tarpon Megalops atlanticus is a large, elopomorph fish found in coastal and inshore waters of the tropical and subtropical Atlantic Ocean. Under natural conditions, Tarpon occur in a variety of habitats ranging from freshwater lakes and rivers to offshore marine waters during their life cycles, and serve as economically important recreational fish species in many countries.
In Africa, Tarpon play a major role in the commercial artisanal fisheries along the Eastern Atlantic coastline areas (from Mauritania to Angola), especially in Nigeria where it is considered as highly priced food fish among the locals. Despite the existence of localized capture based farming for Tarpon in the coastal communities of Nigeria, information on nutritional characteristics, growth patterns, habitat and water requirements and other relevant data concerning its production in captivity is lacking. This study was conducted to provide baseline information on suitability of the fish for human consumption and for enhancing its aquaculture production.
The analyses were done in nine Tarpon farms in three coastal communities of Ilaje Local Government Areas of Ondo State, Nigeria. The assessed farms used dug-out ponds with static water conditions for culturing or fattening tarpon juveniles obtained from the wild and fed with trash fish or shrimps. Collected fish specimens were evaluated for carcass dressing and proximate analysis. Water samples in each of the assessed ponds were also analyzed
The results show that M. atlanticus are raised in a wide range of brackish/marine water conditions. Pond-raised M. atlanticus may serve as food fish due to their high dressing percentage and appreciable amount of macro-nutrients observed in this study.