INDUCED SPAWNING AND EARLY-LIFE DESCRIPTION OF THE MANGROVE RED SNAPPER, LUTJANUS-ARGENTIMACULATUS

Wild-caught mangrove red snapper, Lutjanus argentimaculatus, reared in a concrete tank for 1 year, spontaneously matured in June 1992. On 19 August 1992, a sexually mature female and male (4.6 and 3.2 kg body w eight, respectively) were administered a single intramuscular injectio n of HCG 1500 IU.kg-1 body weight. Spawning occurred 27 h after inject ion. Hatching occurred 16 h after spawning at 28-degrees-C and 32 ppt. Yolk resorption was completed 72 h after hatching. Growth was slow in the first week but rapid in the second and third weeks. Egg and larva l development is similar to that of other lutjanids. Larval rearing re vealed two critical periods: days 3-5 and days 18-20. Future studies m ust be geared to avoid mass mortality of the larvae during the critica l stages for mass seed production.