FATTY-ACID PROFILES IN RED DRUM MUSCLE - COMPARISON BETWEEN WILD AND CULTURED FISH

Red drum Sciaenops ocellatus, a euryhaline fish species, is the target of considerable conservation effort by the Texas Parks and Wildlife D epartment. To aid the conservation effort, a study was conducted to de termine if fatty acid profiles in muscles of subadult red drums (>30 c m total length and sexually immature) differ significantly between wil d and cultured fish. This information may help regulatory enforcement by establishing fatty acid profiling as a forensic tool for conservati on biologists and law enforcement officials who must distinguish cultu red red drums from illegally marketed wild red drums. Red drums were s ampled from summer 1990 to spring 1991 from four Texas coastal bay sys tems and from two commercial aquaculture ventures. Four fatty acids we re identified as diagnostic. Linoleic acid (18:2n-6) was significantly lower in wild red drums than in cultured red drums. Arachidonic acid (20:4n-6) and adrenic acid (22:4n-6) were significantly higher in wild than in cultured fish. Docosapentaenoic acid (22:5n-6) was significan tly higher in wild than in cultured red drums except in Matagorda Bay fish collected in the fall.